Dominus Grim
by TheOriginalSnakeEyes
Summary: The Transporters are hired for a standard job to transport a book, but what is standard quickly shows itself to be anything but.
1. The Transporters

Disclaimer: Nothing owning, Ayamine and Aoki do.

Author Notes: Well, my last story wasn't really sticking and I figured to try something else, something with some actual characters from Get Backers. Oh well, whatever, here goes.

Dominus Grim

Chapter One: The Transporters

Red, gray, black, all swaying in their own manner with the wind. These colors all in their respective capacities suited one Kuroudo Akabane who for all purposes was considered dead to the world a long time ago. With a look that could not be deciphered, the man in black and gray, covered in some red, stepped into his place on the truck, in the back, resting down.

"Was that really necessary Jackal?" Himiko Kudou asked from the front seat, some joke, and some disgust evident in her voice. The man with the epithet "Jackal" could only look at her and smile as she was one of the few people in the world he would allow to address him in that manner.

"Why Miss Himiko, do I detect a hint of disdain in your voice?" Akabane answered in that tone that had become trademark of him and only him, a tone that spoke of death and arrogance and quite possibly could have earned him the title of "the most hated man in the transport business".

"No Jackal, not disdain, just some frustration from your little juvenile habit of murdering to the point of treating your victims as a commodity." The third one, the third transporter, one Gouzou Maguruma chuckled a bit from the drivers seat the slight laugh coming from the "good natured" bickering he knew his ear was in for.

"Commodity? Come, come now. I'm not some brainless sociopath. I didn't kill the client or **all** of his men, now did I? That would be foolish." The Jackal stated, taking out a handkerchief and dabbing at the spots of red on his face almost daintily.

"You could have just walked away Jackal, you didn't have to kill those Yakuza fools **and **the bartender for saying your face looked "gay"." Himiko, the lady also known by the title "Lady Poison" expected some kind of reaction, some kind of blood freezing glare or maybe even a flash of some less than surgical scalpels from the purported bloodthirsty psychopath but was instead treated to laughs, from not one, but both of her traveling companions.

"My dear dear Lady Poison. If that were the case, and I killed those men for that reason than I would have to agree with you about me being juvenile."

"You mean…that wasn't the reason you killed them?" Himiko asked, raising an eyebrow, genuinely interested in hearing how the infamous Jackal justified this homicide.

"Come on Himiko, I thought you knew him better than that." Maguruma chided from her right, sparing her a glance as he didn't or rather ever bothered to worry about stopping his truck.

"The only reason I killed those men my dear is simply because they would have impeded our objectives later, that and of course because they put parasols in the tea there of all the ludicrous things I have heard in my life." Himiko nearly did a double take, how could this man be serious? But then she calmed herself down, being he is who he is.

"Yeah, pretty sick time we live in." Maguruma commented, speeding away from the bar where the trio had gained not only an assignment but an extension on their reputations and a few more notches on the belt for Akabane.

Moments came and went, turned to hours, the time passing was beginning to take its toll on Himiko. Though, oddly, she couldn't seem to fall asleep, despite how exhausted she felt from the day's activities of finding the client and along with Akabane "proving" they were up to the job. It was at that point Himiko considered opening one of her trademark perfume vials to assist in her sleep, but a sound, a certain sound curtailed that.

Now, the sight or rather the sound of Akabane sharpening one of his 108 scalpels would normally be cause for concern, especially if you had the misfortune of being in his way. For Himiko Kudou though, who was graced with a certain immunity due to being both Akabanes' partner and some might argue near equal given the right conditions, the sound of the scalpel being sharpened, slowly, methodically almost religiously came as a sort of lullaby, which, as the term implies quickly lulled Himiko into a state of relaxation.

"Jackal…?" Himiko asked, stifling a yawn. Akabane acknowledged her with a sound and a smile she could actually feel, though at no time did he cease sharpening his precious weapon.

"What is…," she stopped to actually hold back a yawn. "…the assignment?" Maguruma cocked his head to a slightly different angle so as to hear.

"It is…quite an interesting one, a bit of an odd event."

"When do we start, or more to the point Jackal when's the drop off time." Maguruma asked.

"I'll get to that Mr. Unstoppable, first I think we should fully understand what it is we're transporting." To this, both Lady Poison and Mr. Unstoppable woke a little from their respective stupors.

"The client actually **told** you what it is we would be shipping?" Himiko straightened in her seat, turning her head to face the now story telling Akabane. A client telling the exact nature of what a transporter would be shipping was a true rarity, which is if the client actually wanted it transported.

"And you took the job?" Maguruma added in good common sense not trusting some one who was so open, especially in this line of work tied so precariously close to the underworld.

"Why yes, my friends, you need to show some faith in your fellow man." Akabane practically hummed, even he not believing that particular little statement.

"So what is it?" Himiko asked, the suspense not so much killing her as so much annoying the hell out of her.

"What is what?" Akabane asked genuinely smiling and genuinely enjoying the quick increase in rage that this one little non sentence evicted from Himiko.

"Damn it Jackal!" Himiko yelled out fully considering going to the back of the truck and pouring some flame scent down one or all of Jackals bodily orifices. Maguruma was a little irritated as well, though not by Jackals vagueness, rather by Himiko shouting practically in to his left lobe.

Jackal could only do what he tended to do a lot, besides killing that is, and that's chuckle.

"I am very sorry my dear Himiko, it's just your too…oh what's that American term, ah yes, you're such a good "straight man"." Himiko sat back down slowly in her seat and either from losing her conviction from Jackals laugh or just not knowing for the life of her what "straight man" meant, calmed down a bit.

"Anyway, to get to the point, our target, our parcel is a book."

"A book?" both Himiko and Maguruma asked.

"Why yes, my reaction exactly, but yes it's a book. A book called the "Dominus Grim"."

"Wait, where have I heard that?" Himiko asked herself this time, racking her memory until: "…of course, there was an article about it in the paper a few days ago, correct?"

"Yes the very same book. Our client recently had it stolen and through certain "means" got it back." Akabane noted his last three words knowing full well what he was implying.

"Oh…shit, you don't mean the…damn it all." Himiko muttered realizing the involvement of one snake eyed, arrogant, breast grabbing, cigarette smoking, jackass and one slightly more tolerable man was assured.

"Yes, the Get Backers were able to retrieve the book and we are to meet them some time tomorrow afternoon for the hand off."

"Why all the work?" Maguruma asked, slightly astounding his passengers with the fact he was still paying attention.

"Maguruma's right, why not just have those two dumbasses deliver it straight to the client?" Himiko added looking for some kind of technicality almost anything short of turning down the job to avoid meeting the Get Backers, or more specifically one half of the Get Backers.

"Our newest client is quite the nervous fellow; he fears that some "out of state factors" will prevent him from breathing let alone getting that book back lest he step out of Kyoto."

"So there's risk involved, how much?" Himiko asked, more in proportion to the profit she was hoping to make than for actual fear.

"Risk, there's always risk my dear. But what he is offering for this job is quite generous if I can comment." Akabane said more for his two partners benefits than for his as money meant as little to him as taxes to a Yakuza.

"Generous? Well if it's as generous as I'm hoping than maybe just **maybe** I can stomach a session with the Get Backers." Akabane didn't reply verbally rather he smiled his smile as he usually did.

Maguruma who at this point had lost actual interest focused solely on driving, unaware as were his two partners that steps were being taken, processes begun and commodities being judged as the Jackal sharpened his precious trademarks to the tune of a humming lullaby.

To Be Continued


	2. The Hand Off

Disclaimer: Yeah, it's kind of funny; I changed my name to a double name Aoki and Ayamine…not buying it?

Authors Notes: See bottom, needless say some thanks have to be given.

Dominus Grim

Chapter Two: The Hand Off

Anger comes in many forms, but it should be especially feared in a profession where so many have a talent that borderlines if not surpass the word lethal. That was the case on the hot summer afternoon where the client of both the Transporters and the now finishing Get Backers decided to initiate the switching of hands of the parcel.

"Well…that went…ahem, well." Akabane said to the nigh stomping girl in front of him. Hearing this; Himikos' shoulders quaked and with a speed that…almost…impressed Akabane, whirled around to face him.

"**Don't…start…with me…Jackal."** Now, Akabane was not a man very prone to fear if at all, but he was prone to slight unnerving and this statement did just that. As was his nature though, the Jackal found humor in others emotion.

"I don't see why you are mad at me my dear, the goal was accomplished, despite some…hurdles." Akabane let off a slight chuckle at both his statement and the grimace and sound of disgust Himiko made as a result. Himiko turned around and continued walking towards the truck that, uncharacteristic of its drivers moniker of "Mr. No Brake", was currently parked.

Suddenly a white Beetle, a certain Lady Bug drove past the ambling duo, screeching to a halt for only a moment.

"Yo Himiko! I meant what I said, bout you and HEVN that is!" the ever sneering, ever smirking, and ever cigarette smoking face of Ban Mido yelled with his partner Ginji Amano doing his best to hold him back. A look of shock crossed Himikos face, only for it to be replaced by one of rage as the mistress of poison scents drew one of her many vials within the ticks of a second.

"Later babe!" Ban said when Himiko was a second or two away from the drivers' side window. Giving her a wink, Ban floored the little Lady Bugs engine and drove off.

**"Damn you, you limp dick snake bastard!" **Himiko thundered seriously considering throwing one of her vials in the vein hope it would land in the Jagan wielders eye, mouth or body part that shant be mentioned. As if acting as the eternal balance to his friend, the spiky blond head of Ginji Amano poked out of the sunroof.

"Himiko-Chaaaan! I'm really sorry about what Ban said! I'm sure he didn't mean it! And if it's true, that's cool to I guess-"the apology was then cut off by a 200 kilo grip that pulled Ginjis blond scalp back to the confines of the car. Neither Himiko nor Akabane heard the inevitable exchange between the Get Backers but both could pretty accurately assume the reason why Ban was yelling at a stammering Ginji.

"Bastard, I don't know what Ginji sees in him." Himiko muttered while flicking off the now distant car.

"Gin-Kun has a knack for seeing the depth of others." Akabane commented with a smirk. Touching the brim of his hat, the Jackal smiled at the memory of how Ginji conducted himself during the hand off. "Fearful Friendliness" was a good way to describe it but "incredible paranoia" worked well too. Himiko looked at the Jackal for a moment or two.

"Depth, to Ban? You don't know him like I do, and Ginjis' just a sappy idiot. Bans about as shallow as they come, dark past or not."

"Really, dark past you say?" Akabane asked, his curiosity piqued. The opportunity to learn about a potential obstacle was intriguing, throw in that that obstacle was one of the Get Backers and his interest was upped a notch or three. Himiko smiled a witty smirk.

"Sorry Jackal, I may hate the snake but you're not getting any stories from me." Jackals face than had a sort of interrupted look but was quickly replaced by a smile.

"_Hate the snake_ wasn't what Ban-Kun was implying earlier?" he asked, perfectly masking his sarcasm with a veil of gentility.

"Jackal…" Himiko said almost threateningly, but then sighed in exasperation. The honk of a truck brought the two out of their repartee.

"I hate to bruise any egos, but don't we have a schedule to keep?" Maguruma asked from the drivers' seat, his voice border lining a yell due to the distance. Himiko looked at the man Mr. Unstoppable then at the still smiling Jackal. Without another word the Transportation pair slipped into the truck.

"Did you get the book, the, what the hell was it again?" Maguruma asked adjusting the mirror as he brought the truck to traffic.

"The 'Dominus Grim', funny name for a book don't you think?" Himiko asked, cradling the book like a precious commodity, akin to treating a baby like a bag of bills.

"Yes quite odd actually. The title alone is worth a good amount of ones intrigue." Akabane mused with the questioning stares of Lady Poison and of course Maguruma who kept his eyes on the road only out of occasional boredom. Akabane thought of toying with the pair for a moment or two, but then vouched against it deciding that professionalism trumped pleasure _"For now anyway."_

"The first word _Dominus_ is Latin for God, but what is interesting is the second part of the title, the word _Grim_ which could be interpreted any number of ways." Himiko looked at the book in her arms a moment and at the Jackals request handed the book to his neatly gloved hands at which point he continued.

"The word can be of any a number of languages, one might assume English, and even if that is the case then the word itself can still be looked at in various lights."

"Such as?" Himiko asked her aroused interest more than making up for Magurumas' now focused sense on the road. The infamous "Man with no brakes" cared little for details, at least for a professional's sake, and so needed only the point of the matter explained.

"Well, it can be construed as meaning 'bad', or 'dark' or possibly foreboding but what really excites me is its likely reference to the Western Bringer." Akabane said with a molecules different smirk than his usual. As if actions didn't already trump words, Akabane was expressing his interest in the book by gliding one of his scalpels dangerously close to the word _Grim_ in the title. Himiko thought better of warning Akabane of damaging the parcel as unless an opportunity for instant homicide was apparent, professionalism was his prime concern, so instead she thought of questioning him on the term "Western Bringer", but then, knowing him, and putting together what she had just heard.

"The Grim Reaper." Himiko said without a hint of doubt. Akabane lightly clapped his penchant for theatrics alive and well.

"Where's the drop off?" Maguruma asked, doing his best to stifle the chuckle that threatened him whenever Akabane "acted" not really for fear of his life but rather to get the job done.

"The clients mansion in the borders of Kyoto, from there he will make an escorted escape, or so he told me. He was such a nervous fellow…I can't imagine why." For some reason the Jackals infamous scalpels decided to make an appearance, the blades seemingly capturing and holding the light from the summer afternoon sun while commingling with the light and impregnating it with a touch of crimson.

"Kyoto? That's quite a ways off." Himiko said, not looking forward to the experience of essentially a family trip down the high ways and express ways.

"Hmm, I see we think on more similar wave lengths than you might think, you needn't worry"

"How do you figure Jackal, as I recall you said the client was only worried about 'out of state' factors trying to kill him."

"Trying to kill him yes, but there are many who would want this book on its own, disregarding his murder." Himiko listened to this response, noting that Akabane said "murder" when most people would have said "life".

"What's so special about this book Jackal? I know as professionals we're not allowed to read it or technically even know it's a book, all that aside there must be something you're not telling us, something that an article on page E-27 of the Sunday Times neglected to mention…" Himiko said, intentionally trailing off.

"Why Miss Himiko, when did you become such a curious little thing?" Akabane stated in mock scold. Himiko felt the resolve in her interrogation falter slightly but she pressed on.

"You're rarely if ever out of the loop on **anything** Jackal. I find it hard to believe you don't know anything about this book." Akabane mused for a moment, placing the book in front of his side.

"Mind you…this is just hearsay, but from what I've heard the _Dominus_ _Grim_ is the bible as written by the traitorous apostle Judas…after he hung himself. A bit odd, no?" Himiko looked at him and then slowly faced the drivers' side window, a smile becoming quickly evident over her face. _"Now it grabs my interest."_

From then the Transporters drove on in relative silence, a few sayings here and there regarding directions, where to possibly go for drinks later, the sexual preferences of some of their acquaintances, how the pop idols of today were the real con artists and a few tidbits hear and there about what a certain Doctor would do if given the idol competition.

But then, as the afternoon wore on, it began. Voices that could not be heard by ears began whispering…

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: I really just want to say thanks to those of you who took the time to review my humble little word clump.

Rabid Lola: I'm glad you're liking the story so far, and I hope these little clues to the books title answer your question a little bit…just not all of it, cause if you did, then you already know the ending, get out of my head!

Sylerna: Thank you for your compliment, blame it on hoarding over the Get Backers volumes a few too many times. As for Magurumas nickname, well, I hope this chapter alleviates the pain a bit, heh.

Atropos' Knife: Thank you for the praise, I was racking my brain a bit to get the characters to kind of "act" off each other without them going OOC, I'm glad the result was to your liking.

Well, I guess I'll see you all when I see you, later.


	3. The Crash

Disclaimer: As before, though if I were to become rich and buy out Aoki and Ayamine…

Authors Notes/ Review Responses: At bottom.

Note: Italics mean thought.

Dominus Grim

Chapter Three: The Crash

It had started, the outside world was calm for now, but on another entirely different level, a different plane all together, the intrusion had begun.

"Hmm, did you say something Maguruma?" Himiko asked. Maguruma, who up until that point had been focused on the road ahead of him, turned to his partner with an awkward glance.

"What? No, I didn't say anything." Himiko quirked an eyebrow and then looked at their third partner for his input.

"Did you say something Akabane?" the Jackal, still holding the book, responded.

"I think you are mistaken Miss Himiko, I have said nothing nor heard nothing in at least the past twenty minutes." Himiko looked at the Jackal and then turned back, going against commen consensus to actually believe him. The Jackal was many things, but he was not prone to losing focus by way of day dreams.

"Must be a little tired I suppose, I could have sworn someone said something." Jackal heard this statement and just as he did a sick sense of familiarity overcame him. Blinking once, he shook it off and instead laid his head against the metal frame of the trucks interior.

"Maybe you're having a few too many sleepless nights. Can't be good for you, you're like what, fifteen?" Maguruma asked out what was most likely professional concern.

"Sixteen, Mr. No Brake, Sixteen. I'll be seventeen soon enough." The girl, woman, called Lady Poison replied with, either intentional or not, a far off look in her eyes. The reclining Akabane regarded the pensive Himiko with a single eye, though he had worked with her and Maguruma for awhile he suddenly realized with a smile that he knew little more than the base about each of them. However, the knowledge that they in turn knew even less than base about him caused a slight unintentional increase in his own smile.

A few minutes went by, and oddly enough the traffic on the expressway began to thin out rapidly. Rising from his seat, Akabane made his way over to the front and looked out through the window.

"Maguruma, why pray tell are we on a country road?" Akabane asked, curious of the natural and purely unindustrialized surrounding the trio was currently a part of. The truck, past a few minutes ago had abandoned the freeway for a dirt path that practically doubled for foot traffic. As if recovering on an instant, Maguruma took his foot off the accelerator and lightly tapped his brake, bringing the truck to an oddly quick eventual stop.

"Shit, I don't…I don't know." The usually unshakable driver said apparently both to himself and to his passengers. Himiko not being one to miss the details found their more or less chauffeur dripping with perspiration.

"Are you alright Maguruma?" Himiko asked this time out of a genuine concern for her partner. Said driver wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve and nodded a few times, either out of answering a question or more likely out of confusion. Once more, Jackal was overcome with the feeling of previous event, long converted to memory…

_"Quite interesting."_

_"Yes, thought implantation. It's so simple in theory yet when actually applied in practice…"_

_"…It can bend a mind to its' absolute brink, and if a little more pressure is applied without any physical distraction-"_

"Perhaps we should get out and see where we are." Akabane stated with less than a leg still actually left in the truck.

"Akabane?" Himiko looked on, noticing that he had taken the book with him.

"Yeah, good advice." Maguruma practically stuttered following the Jackal out. Himiko stopped herself from asking a question; rather she then opted to follow her partners out into the grassy field.

The three transporters definitely all stood out in the natural tranquility of the field, more so however if one actually knew what each represented. Akabane the Jackal, the Dr. Jackal to be more precise kept a hand on the brim of his precious hat as he gazed at their surroundings, noticing nothing really but a single tree.

The Lady Poison could only herself watch the Jackal and the slowly recovering Maguruma. Looking from one to the other in slow succession, Himiko then took out one of her perfume vials and spilled its contents.

"There are better ways to recycle my dear." Akabane asked, slowly turning to face her with a smile on his face. Himiko smiled herself.

"It's tracking scent my dear Jackal, just in case." Akabane nodded in the affirmative, his smile proof of the respect he held for thinking like that. Looking to his left the Jackal assessed the recovering driver.

"Feeling well enough to not stop a truck, Mr. No Brake?" Maguruma smirked bitterly, the effect of his infamous nickname having full force. Taking a deep breath that quickly became a sigh he faced the Jackal.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just thought, no, I should say I **knew** I was going the right way."

"And yet Kyoto is about three hundred miles in the opposite direction we had been going in, right?" Maguruma nodded, his eyes widening a bit. Himiko too was under a little surprise as the Jackal once again showed off his great deal of knowledge.

"I see. Then that would mean-"Akabane ran his index finger down the spine of the Dominus Grim and along its closed pages as well. In a flash the book was off his hands and into the flow of the breeze along with the rest of the dust. Raising the brim of his hat with the scalpels of his right hand, Dr. Jackal looked off. Off in all senses of the word.

Though Himiko and Maguruma were both professionals and while they both knew that Akabane was practically the zenith of professionalism, neither of these facts did much to stop their eyes from bulging to out of their skulls.

"What the hell!? Jackal, what's the matter with you!?" Maguruma yelled.

"Akabane, I realize the money isn't important to you, but this is just insanity!" Himiko chimed in. The target of their shared wrath turned once more to face them.

"Hmm, did I do something not to your liking?" Akabane smiled again with full knowledge that he was tempting the two too far. In fact he swore he could have heard a vial being popped open. Taking a few moments for the two to calm down so he could explain, the Jackals trademark smile decreased. First into passiveness, then down a little into indifference, and finally resting in the "grave" position. "That book was a fake."

"A…fake?" Himiko stated, not understanding just how such a standard job could have already crossed over into Get Backers level oddity.

"Yes, a counterfeit Dominus Grim. The switch was most likely made sometime when we were on the road." Maguruma looked over at the truck and then back.

"How? We were driving the whole time, and no one dangerous even came near the truck."

"We were just led to think that there were no threats. Probably from the time we disconnected with the Get Backers until just…about…now." Jackal said this with no doubt in his voice regardless of the ridiculousness of the statement.

"Jackal what do you mean? You're not making any sense." Himiko said chancing a few steps closer to him. Jackal looked down at the shorter woman and made slight head motions left and right, akin to very slight nodding with his smile. Himiko extended her hand slightly towards the Jackals shoulder, then stopped, considering for a moment before-

"Maguruma, I know where the book is. Not too far, lets go." The Jackal began the trek back to the truck until he was delayed.

"Jackal, please explain to us what happened, I mean…something is wrong here, even you're a little off." Himiko stated crossing her arms with a questioning expression adorning her features.

"It's simple Miss Himiko; some little devils just like me have taken our parcel." Akabane said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Waiting for a response from the quietly surprised woman, the Jackal, finding none, craned his eyes towards the unstoppable Mr. No Brake. "Maguruma, the truck is ready no? I know where the book is, drive us where I tell you and then circle the standard express way routes until you see me outside the designated area." So quickly did Akabane reappear in the truck while stating this order it was nigh impossible to tell if he was even outside the truck when he finished it. Maguruma trusting the Jackal as much as any professional would, did as he was told and got into the drivers seat with the blinkingly confused Himiko close in tow.

Already when they had entered the truck the Jackal was exercising his precisely tuned fingers with a device uncharacteristic of him: a pen. Similar to a human copier the man in long black churned out the exact destination they had to be, relative of course to their current location. Placing the paper down with a controlled force on the dashboard, the good doctor then retired to his usual spot in the back of the truck.

"This is Kobe, Akabane." Himiko stated, a tad frustrated at being led around without a single clue as to why. The Jackal looked over at Himiko with one open eye and stated, this time with no smile apparent something that would end any debate.

"I know." The look even with just one eye showing along with the cold inflection of his voice was enough to chill Himikos blood a few degrees. Sitting back down, Himiko did something out of tune for her personality.

"S-sorry…Akabane." She said her eyes downcast. Maguruma meanwhile ignored their exchange as he did all their others. Rather, he focused on driving to the destination given to him.

With one partner in confusion and slight regret, along with another in complete focus on getting to their destination; this left Kuroudo Akabane in thought about the events.

_"It's bait, such obvious bait. Then again I suppose Luther was never known for subtlety…they want me, or maybe they're making fun?" _ With this thought Akabane smiled again, though it was a smile out of place and maybe even out of time here.

"Miss Himiko?" Akabane spoke bringing said girl out of her own thoughts.

"Yes Dr. Jackal?" she asked, forcing down the fear in her throat with the iron coldness of a professional.

"If you don't mind I'm going to have to ask you for your assistance in getting the book back." Himiko nodded once expressionless, though her mind on the other hand was buzzing with questions. All of said questions circled around the Jackals odd behavior and how again oddly enough for **him** how he was acting normal…for Kuroudo Akabane anyway.

0000000000

"This it Jackal?" Maguruma asked, pulling the truck on the outskirts of a populated city, towards what looked like a giant tourist trap/exhibit of some kind.

"Yes, this is it, keep driving as I said. This shouldn't take that long." As was his nature: the Jackal, slowly almost daintily made his way out of the truck. Of course this belayed his true physical nature. Himiko stepped out slowly behind, and couldn't help but rub her bare arms from the chill breeze. Maguruma, waiting for the go ahead saw this and felt slightly odd.

_"No breeze."_ He thought. Seeing the nod from Akabane, he snapped himself out of it and drove off, casting a less than professional look of concern to his two partners. Time in all of its rudeness, continued to pass and Himiko kept feeling the chill, though oddly enough it had ceased being a physical chill. Rather it was now like her mind was cold, or more precisely being touched, prodded and probed by icy cold fingers.

"Well now Miss Poison, shall we venture a look inside?" Himikos' breath nearly caught

_"Damn, was I really that out of it? What's going on with me is it…this place?"_ Lady Poison queried in her mind with some effort, like the thought itself was being put through a screen. Finding that Akabane had already begun walking towards the door, Himiko hustled to catch up. About to venture a question as to just what was going on, Himiko was cut off by the good doctor taking out one of his scalpels along with one of his gloves. With morbid curiosity the young girl watched as The Jackal cut a small eclipse on his ring finger and dotted the doorway with his blood. Waiting for something to happen, and when nothing did, the Jackal pushed the decorated stone door open.

"Jackal?" Himiko asked. Akabane turned to his smaller companion with his grave look, which quickly turned to a smile.

"Theatrics my dear, had to break out of that little stupor you were in." again, Himikos breath caught. The Jackal continued, "I need you at your best my Lady, truth be told." He said walking with her a few steps behind into the lightless dank interior.

"Thank you…for putting that much faith in me Akabane. But, what is this place…is it…to you…?" seeing and hearing her trail off, Akabane looked to her, though with his eyes oddly "open".

"Mugenjou was Gin-Kuns' cradle, yes?" Himiko nodded. "Well, this place was sort of like some late schooling for me." With a smile and turn, Kuroudo Akabane grasped the brim of his hat and walked into the darkness. Himiko having long assumed she would never learn anything of the Jackals past was flabbergasted. Looking behind her a moment, she then followed.

Somewhere, a chain was being dragged.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes/Reviews Response: Took a while to get that one out! Hope you enjoyed it, and don't worry some good old dark angst action is on the way. Now to the reviews:

Sylerna: Once again, thank you for the review and I hope you enjoyed this one. Also, some aspirin for that Maguruma head ache would do some good…never mind, I'm tired, forgive me.

Rabid Lola: Well Jackals not really averse to death huh? I'd say the Grim Reaper kind of complements his image. As for what Ban said, well, the clues are there, I'll tell you next chapter if you want. For a hint I'll just say it involves _teams_. To the grammar and punctuation mistakes never my strong point. But I will try to improve as I go on so my stuff is at least legible, kind of anyway. For the Judas thing, its seemed kind of right to fit him into a Get Backers story somewhere, I mean its been done once already.

Atropos' Knife: Happy New Year to you to! And everyone else who read this or reviewed. Again, I apologize for my less than stellar grammar and punctuation, and I intend to take your advice to the best of my brains capability. Wish me luck!

Tysoyo Kalli: Thanks for reading and it really matters to hear that my words are fun to read. Funny thing, Akabane is pretty easy to write; maybe because I'm a guy my Himiko is a bit off. Note that I will try to improve that in the future, also bare in mind though Ban could make anyone, let alone Himiko a little pissy. On the last thing, your question regarding the action or lack of, trust me, some dark "stuff" is about to happen.

Well, that's all for now, see you all when I see you!


	4. The Heads

Disclaimer: It's funny; I actually own it but just can't say I do…no really...seriously…

AN/Reviewers Response: Bottom of Page (Guess it's assumed by now, huh?)

Dominus Grim

Chapter Four: The Heads

Within a bright, very bright and very well walled room, there was one dark spot. In this dark spot, where half of all the wires in the room led, the sound of splashing and bobbing could be heard. A loud whoosh and a few clicks and clacks prodded along the activation of a few monitors by hands that were literally…detached. This went on a few minutes, until some footsteps signifying the arrival of a new player caused a momentary lapse in the typing.

"That still amazes me." Said the new player, sashaying in with a very long white business suit, as if strained to pay attention, the one typing stopped again with an inaudible sigh.

"I would ask you if the Bastard is here, but I have monitors to tell me that. I would also ask you to type for me, but I have hands for that. Tell me Miss Hai, why do I keep you around?" the one apparently called Miss Hai, smiled beneath the brim of her white hat, her red lips quite a contrast to her hauntingly pale skin. In a moment, the sound of something small and metallic being pushed against glass could be heard. The sound was so small and minute that one could actually wonder if they heard it at all.

"That's why you keep me around and he-"she motioned towards the monitor. "-is why I stay around." A garbled chuckle, like from beneath a body of water occurred causing ruby red lips to part, if only for a moment.

"Are they ready to introduce themselves, it has been something like twelve years." uttered the garble again. Ms. Hai nodded, retracting her hands and smiling in a very familiar manner, using her now free hand to adjust her thick black hair.

"And they've been ready for 'something like twelve years'. No problems, we'll get everything we want in the end. And already, we have something extra." The lithe woman said, tossing the Dominus Grim into the dark spot, where there was apparently a small body of water. No more words were needed at that point Ms. Hai walked back out of the room, though if one were perceptive enough, they could _feel_ two grins although the reasoning behind these grins were as opposite as night and day.

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It was dark, so dark that the aptly named Lady Poison had to make her way by touching the walls. This of course meant that whatever danger might lay ahead would face an unready hand, but she had to take that risk. Oddly enough, although she couldn't see the Jackal in front of her, she could feel him or rather, his aura. And once more something odd the Jackal was merely walking straight, not needing to steady himself at all.

_"Why is that surprising?" _Himiko thought with a somewhat bitter smirk knowing full well that despite the numerous challenges and nigh hells that she and Jackal faced, Akabane would always be the one to come out with a smile and she…well not so much.

Nearly gasping as her finger caught in a gap in the wall, Himiko pulled back a bit and stared intently at the walls, trying to determine something, if anything at all about them. To no avail all she could surmise was that the walls matched the assumption she had from outside the building. Like a temple of some kind, the walls and building were elaborately almost intricately built with nary a stone or pattern out of place. So much like a temple it was there was no light source, at all.

"Something wrong Miss Himiko?" Akabane asked innocently (for him) from over Himikos shoulder. The said women instinctively slapped one hand over her mouth to keep from yelling and brought one arm nearly to one of her vials, only to stop within a tenth of a second upon realizing who it was.

"Uh no Jackal, sorry…it's just, I'm trying to figure this place out a bit. I mean there is **no one **here. And, well about-" Himiko was about to ask about Akabane or rather what he meant about that "Late Schooling" statement he made over a half hour ago, only to be (not literally) cut off by Akabane.

"There are people here Miss Himiko; they just have yet to reveal themselves. They are quite a shy bunch in truth." Akabane said with his smile. Himiko blinked once or twice and then upon realizing that Akabane was no longer visible had to continue following his foot steps. Surprised again, she then felt a gloved hand around her out stretched wrist.

"J-jackal?" she asked nervously.

"Forgive my lack of manners up until now my dear Lady Poison, but it would be more efficient if I guide you through." Himiko blushed a bit from the under tones that statement could mean. Shaking it off upon realizing the logic behind his words, Himiko let her self be guided, slowly but at least not fumbling over walls. It was then a thought crossed her mind. Here her arm was in the hand of a man who had killed so many for pure joy and she felt…nothing, no embarrassment nor fear, just nothing. What did that say about the life she was leading?

Himiko shook her head once, to clear those cob webs out, no use thinking that way, especially now of all times. No longer feeling the Jackals hand, Himiko stopped walking, but then found the reason. The room ahead was illuminated, almost like a miniature amphitheatre with an upraised platform overlooking the rest of the room. Seeing the thin ebony figure of the Jackal walk in with what looked like a practiced casual sway, Himiko followed, keeping a vial in hand just in case the need arose.

Not even getting past the entry way to the amphitheatre, Himiko and Akabane turned their heads and found someone waiting for them.

"That man?" Himiko said, not bothering or rather not knowing how to continue that sentence. It was understandable as the said man was in all black, with a coat reaching towards the ground. In fact with the exception of the yellow cheetah band on his bowler derby hat, the man was completely in black.

"You noticed too I assume?" Akabane said with a half smile. The man, who almost like he was napping, cocked his head up with a surprised look, then a grin.

"Hiya Kuroudo-Kun!" the man yelled out in what could only be aptly described as the voice of a clown with sick intent. Himiko was caught between shock and pangs of laughter: the former from hearing Akabane addressed in such a casual way and the latter from hearing Akabane being addressed in such a casual way.

"Laughing Phantom, silly me for thinking you above this place." Jackal said, with only the slightest bit of what sounded like malice spicing up his smile. At hearing his name, Laughing Phantom sauntered slowly towards the pair, his black coat swaying beneath him, almost dusting the floor. Himiko slowly began to look up, as the man was quite tall, at least six foot five inches, and sorry to say his face was quite handsome along with the neck length blond hair, he gave off the image of a western playboy. However, what Himiko found odd was that he had a chain wrapped around his wrist, and up into his sleeves, the chain itself looked ordinary enough but extended from his wrist out into the hallway opposite the room. With every step, the chain dragged loosely on the ground with a sound similar to ash being scraped across glass.

"Aka-Kun, so good to see you. And you have a lady friend? Didn't realize you were into the younger ones." Himiko could feel herself scowl at this but didn't have time to respond as Laughing Phantom did just that, laugh. Long and hard he laughed in higher and higher decibels and his face began to convulse and contort so extremely she could have sworn she saw his chin and jaw extend with his lower teeth, but he quickly stopped.

"Phantom-Kun, why are you here? I assume it's to add me to your little boys and girls harem?" Akabane asked, his eyes still closed, his smile just as wide. Himiko looked to him, then slowly to the grinning Phantom. They were different, Himiko knew, Jackal smiled, Phantom Grinned.

"Oh come on! You make it sound so seedy! Besides I don't keep them, only one or two on my person at a time. I don't keep as many as say…108?" Himiko felt Akabane smile even wider, if that were physically possible. Himiko decided to put her voice in, if her experiences had taught her anything it's that first impressions really do matter.

"Look, whether the Jackal is your lover or not is his business, we just came here on business." Himiko said, forcing all the authority and profession into it. Akabane looked charmingly perplexed, while Phantom bent his back to bring his face to Himikos.

"Lovers…nah, Akas' too skinny for me…and I've kind of soured on men for the time being. Speaking of which, you're cute, that tattoo makes you look delicious…so tempting and forbidden…" Phantom said bringing his face and lips closer to Himikos. Contorting with disgust, Himiko drew back and cast a field of one of her scents. Phantom leaped back and nearly landed on a wall.

"Calm down bitch-Chan, I'm not here to fight, yet anyway. Just to guide." This time Himiko was sure, she saw his chin bulge south at least two inches, but it then retracted just as quickly.

"Guide? Didn't you leave this place saying something about the 'Great Laughing Phantom will rule the world with his chain of infinite love?'…or something?" Akabane asked, tipped his hat up. Phantom coughed and began walking forward, stopping and jerking his head for the two to follow.

"I guess, no matter how far and hard I go in this world, this place has a way of drawing you back…eh?" Phantom said, looking back and shooting his eyebrows up and down repeatedly at the two. Jackal lowered his hat, still with a smile under the brim. It was all Himiko could do not to pound Phantoms face into paste. He was handsome, but so irritating…that was familiar. The duo turned trio walked around the 'stage' of the room towards another hallway. They followed this for a few minutes until the hallway became dark to the point of blindness again.

"How's the Transport business Aka-Kun?" Phantom asked.

"Oh, it's all right I suppose; better lately since I've been involved with some rather interesting people." The two chatted on the square like old acquaintances, and Himiko was left to fondle the walls again in the vain hope of following them. She then felt something on her ankle.

"Jackal, why are you holding my ankle?" expecting some witty retort or even some chuckles. Himiko was surprised to hear nothing, but still felt whatever it was on her ankle ascend her leg quickly until her neck was in a grip.

"Oh Buddha, a woman, been so long!" yelled out the raspy voice, Himiko froze for a moment and then thrust her skull back, connecting with what felt like a nose. Now free, Lady Poison stepped back and armed her self with a vial in each hand. Not waiting, she uncorked the one in her left hand and cascaded its contents over her assailant. Assuming it was a man; he coughed and lashed out at Himiko in the dark. Himiko, amazed at his speed ducked back and heard the wall being smashed and broken.

"The Sleep Scent?" Himiko asked out loud, knowing her poisons well enough to realize that was the one she had spread. The effect was usually instantaneous, especially the Sleep Scent. But she heard the man approaching her, lunging at her. Himiko jumped back…a lot slower than she thought. Only barely missing him that time, Himiko breathed in the other scent in her possession an let loose the flame scent. Using the brief illumination, Himiko was able to view her opponent. He looked old, with scraggly white hair and torn yellowing clothes, but his nails…

_"The nails, I smell poison from them!" _with dread, Himiko realized that this man had scratched her neck deeply and to her horror, found her movements were quickly being inhibited. To her rising terror, she also found the reason why her sleep scent hadn't worked, the man had no nose, and obviously it had been cut off. Luckily, he was currently on fire, so Himiko could stumble back and reconsider her moves.

However, the reconsideration would have to wait as Himiko soon found the walls had ears…and people rushing out of them. Like revolving doors, the fake stone spun, sending more and more human monsters into the halls. Being disabled, Himiko could only duck and dodge a few of them, and punch and kick even less. Before long she was being held against a wall, her arms being pulled to each side hard. The poisons effect becoming worse, she was now even less aware of what was going on, only that she was in a lot of pain.

"A woman, I want her." Said a new creature, this one mostly identical to the first man, only baring some faint traces of a former femininity signaling she was a woman, or was one at least. Drawing her closer, the woman violently bit into Himikos neck. Her arms and legs being and held and pulled, Himiko could only bite back the scream as the blood was let and the woman began sucking and licking it. Another soon joined, biting the other side of Himikos neck and repeating the formers pattern. This time, Himiko screamed. Everything was flashing, everything, the pain, the violation, her brother smoking, Ban smoking.

"Ban…kun…" she said in tears between the pain spasms. Accepting her fate, Himiko could only pray that all would be-

Suddenly, she was free, and the moaning and groaning from the creatures attacking her were gone to neatly sliced pieces.

"Jacka…Akabane?" Himiko said in a whispered awe as the most hated and feared man in the Transport business loomed in front of her. The remaining creatures leered backwards a bit, silent.

"A thousand apologies once again for my lapse in manners and judgment. My dear Miss Lady Poison, come, I'll be quick." Though his back was to her, Himiko could still see his smile, his eyes almost always closed. Then, with a dash of silver in each hand, his beloved tools, the Jackal disappeared and in quick succession brought each and every one of the creatures in the hall to the same bloody end as the first bunch. The letter 'J' being his signature goodbye to them. Retracting his scalpels, Jackal looked over the corpses a fraction of a second or two longer than normal, as well as putting out the pieced remains of the flaming attacker.

"Now," he said with a smile, dabbing the blood on his face with a handkerchief marked with a neatly sewn 'J'. "Let's go on, shall we?" Himiko breathed a few times, feeling like that act alone was a novelty. Trying to get up, she found she couldn't move her legs for the life of her and had no choice but to slump back against the wall. Raising his hat to see, Jackals smile dropped to a neutral expression.

"I'm not blind Miss Himiko, I'm sorry for not coming to your aid sooner. I suppose this place…makes me lose my sense of professionalism, if only slightly." Akabane said, standing perfectly still and making no hints or urges to move forward, he was simply waiting for his partner.

"It's not that." Himiko said between haggard breaths while sniffing her antidote scent to rid her body of the nail poison. Before realizing it, Himiko saw the Jackals face less than a foot from hers. Without time enough to respond Himiko felt an odd sweep motion on either side of her neck.

"Hold please." Akabane politely ordered. Himiko complied in holding the two pieces of cloth to the sewn cuts in her neck. "Unlike you Lady Poison I'm quite ignorant of toxins and chemicals; however, with lacerations and cuts I'm capable enough." And with that combination of antidote scent and skilled hands, Himikos neck was physically back to shape. Standing back up from his kneeling position, Akabane adjusted his hat and looked around.

"Rest if you need to Miss Himiko, I shall wait." Himiko waited a few moments to see if he was really serious, when he didn't move, Himiko rested.

"What about that man? Laughing Phantom?" she asked. Jackal smiled and looked back at Himiko.

"I rarely if ever think to consider him as does he, so no problem there." A few minutes passed.

"This place is so…different from Mugenjou." Himiko muttered.

"How so?" Akabane answered, not entirely disagreeing.

"In Mugenjou, they would steal money; they would fight, maybe even rape and kill over territory. But here its like they just swarm, like insects, they don't think just-"

"Kill? Yes my ducky, that's essentially what this place is about. Kill kill kill and its lovely and trusting cousin murder murder." Laughing Phantom said, walking out of the darkness, his chain extending backwards into the black.

"Oh, and I was hoping we had lost you." Jackal said, though smiling, no hint of a joke in his voice. Phantom grinned in response. Suddenly, he was jerked back a bit from an apparent tug on his chain. Looking back with some surprise, Phantom then smiled.

"Come come, we'll be late." He said walking forward down the dark hall again.

"Are you up to this my dear Miss-"before Jackal could finish, Himiko was back on her feet and cracking her neck.

"Yes, I'm okay. Let's just get the book, Akabane." Himiko said, walking past the waiting Jackal.

"As professionals indeed." He said following Himiko and the Laughing Phantom deeper and deeper into the darkness, and then into sudden light.

To Be Continued

AN: Well the story wasn't really supposed to be cut off there but I just wanted to post something. That and I have school tomorrow, so, yeah. On to the reviews:

Tysoyo Kalli: I'm glad you're so forgiving about Akabane, heh; anyway I hope he's still at appropriate levels of depravity.

Rabid Lola: Well, first things first, about Himiko and Hevn, well good old tactful Ban was insinuating politely that Himikos sexual preference leaned towards the feminine side. How's that for politically correct? For the heretic thing, all I can say is read on and judge for yourself. And wait…my writing gave away I was a guy? Cool I guess.

Friezaess: Thanks for the review and trust me, there's more dark stuff on the way.

Atropos' Knife: Hey no problems for late reviews, a reviews a review…review? Any who I'm glad to see that this Akabane is cool for you, and also I really appreciate the info on Akabane I do plan on using sometime in the future…wait no I'm not…act surprised. As for the Get Backers…hey look times up!

Well, that's all for today ladies and gents, I'll see you when I see you.


	5. The Seperation

Disclaimer: Same again, same again…sounds like a song?

Authors Notes: Took a while but I'm back in action. Hope you enjoy!

Dominus Grim:

Chapter Five: The Separation

From being in the darkness so long, piercing white light causes a bit of irritation. Though, Akabane with his gigantic hat, and Laughing Phantom with his flat headed derby hat were less affected then the wincing Himiko.

As the light settled and the assorted three adjusted to the light around them, their new location was revealed. Though the walls and floor were still the golden ornamental brick they once were, there was now no roof and the trio had a perfect view of the gray sky. Where the roof should have been their was only one jutting platform only a little above floor level with an odd assortment of figures populating it. "Odd" being stretched as far as the meaning would and could allow.

"Hmm," Akabane murmured looking to the group on the platform and then to the increasingly chuckling Laughing Phantom. "A betrayal Phantom-Kun? How shocking." Akabane said with no lift in his tone and no trace of surprise on his face. Himikos' eyes widened quite a bit, though they quickly went back to normal. With all that had happened, a betrayal was almost a welcome reprieve.

"A betrayal? Come now Aka-Kun. When did I actually **say** I would help you in any other capacity other than guiding you and your little hottie friend to this exact point in time, space, continuum, Trek, Wars, Shatner, Skywalker-"Phantom continued his babbling as he backed up slowly, one hand on his hat obscuring his eyes, and the other grasping the chain from his right sleeve. With that, Phantom babbled his way into the darkness of an adjoining hall, all the while his chin expanding out southward coming further and further to a point. Though, with the sounds still coming from there, one would wonder just how far away he actually was.

"Jackal, what's going on-"Himiko was cut off by Jackal.

"Looks like they've dropped the façade." Akabane said, his smile oddly wider, showing just a hint of white teeth. Himiko looked up to the platform, and saw no one there.

"Sorry about this and your damn book." Came from nowhere. Suddenly Himiko and Akabane looked down and saw something akin to an extracted human heart with a spray can shoved neatly inside, spewing forth a greenish yellow fume. With no time to act with each other, the pair split up and dashed to opposite ends of the room. A wind quickly picked up, the gas was then spread around the room in a torrent cycle. If one were to look up they would find that even the gray sky was now yellow, the storm of amber fog had cascaded about and forth. But from within, steps could be heard.

"Mr. Jackal is back, what the fuck kind of welcome were you expecting?" Jackal shot his head up as a total of eight scalpels from each hand. From out the yellow mist came a man. Though this could be hard to figure if one did not know the figure as a certain Doctor knew. The man was covered in a black and green hazardous material suit with several precision tears and gashes all over it showing his wrists and a bit of his under shirt respectively.

What made this man a sight was the fact that his gas mask was only half complete; while his face was completely covered with two black lenses and a long over used air tank his black scraggly hair jetted out of the opening of the back of the mask giving him the look of a nuclear technician who just didn't give a damn. Acting on the honed impulse he prided himself on, Jackal lunged at this figure between the ticks of a second. Yet neither were surprised at the outcome.

"I see your abilities are the same Kanryu." Jackal stated with near pride as his scalpels were sucked out from his knuckles and into Kanryus chest, not seconds later did Akabane feel the majority of his scalpels rattle almost _wanting_ to leave his body and go to his absorbent opponent. Kanryu took his turn lunging at the Jackal, bringing his right arm across in an arc made crueler by the glint of a knife appearing from his gauntlet. Saved by a quick backwards dash, Jackal grunted in annoyance as Kanryu disappeared into the mist with a nod.

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Himiko wasn't exactly enjoying her time in the mist either, having jettisoned herself to the side of the room opposite Jackal. Thinking for a moment that the forces they had seen earlier were focusing mainly on the scalpel wielding good Doctor, Lady Poison was quickly corrected of this assumption by several lit matches tossed at her at a speed rivaling a souped up Subaru. Narrowly dodging by virtue of highly trained legs, Himiko positioned a vial in each hand as a laughing silhouette ambled out of the piss colored fog.

"Shit, figures I get stuck with the fucking girl." Himiko ignored this statement while the figure in a ripped up black and green hooded sweat shirt dusted his black slacks in a show of piss arrogance.

"Who are you? And why the hell are you people attacking us?" the Mistress of Poison was answered by another laugh, this one a little more grating.

"**_Why_**? Leave it to something as pathetic as a woman to ask such a dumbass question." The man, who barely looked out of his teens upon showing his face from the fog, clenched his fists and smirked as several matches flipped out from between his knuckles once unlit, then the second time lit like flares. The bandanna around his black dashed silver hair flowed with a combination of the wind and his own mad dash at Himiko. So close did he come to Himiko that the woman saw the irises of his red eyes before ducking out of the way. Coming to a tumble, Himiko stood up and saw with satisfaction that the man was caught in the Erosion scent she had left behind. However her look of relief quickly turned to one of cautiousness and surprise what with the man separating the cloud of smoke by repeatedly spreading his arms in a makeshift crucifix.

"Come on you stupid cow, do it better bitch!" he yelled out as he dashed forward again. Himiko, incensed by this and the other insults dodged his flame topped fists waiting for an opening. Finding one she breathed in some flame scent and let out the stream of fire with her breath as guide. Instead of hearing the screams of an agonized man in flames, instead the man on fire laughed.

"You whore. Using fire on a flame user, you stupid-"the man was cut off for while he was able to absorb the flame from his skin into the lit matches in his hands…this did little to help him defend a double kick. One to the face and one to the throat left him hacking up some saliva and plasma. Jumping back a step or two he grimaced while he dropped the used matches from his knuckles. Before the spent matches even completely left his hands, new ones popped out once, then twice flipped were lit.

"I take it you're not into strong women, are you?" Himiko asked with a smirk across her face and vials at the ready. The mans eyebrows twitched however Himiko then noticed that his eyes were not quite looking at her, rather they were focused on something.

"Behind you, dig doggy style." Before Himiko could turn her head she felt something hard and linked wrap around her neck. A quick jerk and she was out.

"Bastard…clown…" Himiko managed to utter before passing out. Apparently the face of Laughing Phantom had changed quite a bit from the handsome one from before. Now; his bottom teeth were so long that his chin had to drop a couple feet to accommodate, as well as his eyes narrowing to match his slightly sunken cheeks. Remaining this way a moment Laughing Phantom then changed his face manually, by shoving his chin back into his head.

"**You asshole!**" the man with the matches yelled out. Rather than respond immediately Laughing Phantom scooped up Himiko in his arms and cradled her, his chain making slight _chinking_ noises. After a second or two of this Laughing Phantom decided to respond:

"Asshole huh? Come on Harukai, I know you have this passionate hatred of women thing going on but…I weallllllly want to keep this one!" Phantom said without any semblance of shame. Harukai glared and then spit to his side saying one thing to Phantom before walking back into the yellow mist.

"I was about to finish it and you sneak up, fuck you!" Harukai yelled, giving Phantom the one finger salute. Laughing Phantom did just that…laughed to which he carried out his new "acquisition" with.

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_"Miss Himiko." _ Jackal thought to himself as he had been keeping mental track of his partners' aura through the whole situation so far. Finding that the aura fighting her had moved on and that her weakened power was still being moved, he could only come to the right conclusion.

_"Phantom, how disgustingly predictable."_ Akabane stated, though whether it was out loud or in his mind he wasn't really sure, nor did he care, as he had other matters to attend to. Namely the little boy who had stepped in about three and a half seconds after Kanryu had disappeared.

"Luther, you're looking…rather perturbed." Jackal said his smile only a hint of what it once was.

"Your friend…is food." He said without malice or joke. Just as the last word left his lips his eyes exploded into a white and black haze. Not wasting time, Jackal dashed towards Luther with a speed that almost surprised his own scalpel wielding self. It was not meant to be though as Luther's eyes returned to normal only to have him spin around and have the man standing at his back take his turn. The sound of a scalpel hitting a gold chain of a fourteen carrot pocket watch could be heard.

"Hirutsuai, I see you still act as Little Luther's guardian." Akabane murmured in key with his memory regarding the figure in front of Luther. Said figure was a sight, wearing a black robe varied a bit with several gold and jewel encrusted chains and clasps, more similar to something a female devotee of Islam would wear than a Japanese man. Though even if his Asian heritage could be argued, his blue eyes and gray borderline white hair made it an awfully hard call. Again, his hair was a hard call in itself as a black hood covering a turban made **that** a hard call.

"Why did you come back Kuroudo, didn't you swear you would never return when you left?" Hirutsuai stated with half lidded eyes and a smile defining casual.

"Come on Hiru, the infamous Dr. Jackal is a liar. Nothing more and everything less." Luther said from behind his guardian, one hand in his pocket and the other scratching his borderline violet hair. Jackal then grimaced a smile followed quickly by a slash from his other hand. His gold chain cut to bits of yellow and diamond, Hiru grabbed Luther by the hand and dashed into the gas.

His eyes closed, Akabane felt what aura he could and found none. He was alone.

"A liar…possibly, but these walls will do nothing to override my chivalrous nature." Akabane said looking from left to right, slowly, and then sashaying casually to where he felt Himikos aura last.

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Light splashing, usually caused by bobbing was heard as disconnected hands typed feverishly at seven different keyboards, the only ones not broken yet. Somewhere else in the room the Dominus Grim was on a scanner, its pages being flipped back and forth by mechanical strings. Lights flashing, analyzing monitors shifting images rapidly.

"Judas…what were you trying to tell us…what if anything…something…" said a slightly garbled voice. The typing continued furiously as one key board gave out from the pressure; it was quickly shoved aside and replaced with a fresh one.

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Outside the building, a white car pulled up.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Took awhile to get this one done, but hey, here it is. This was particularly fun to write just to introduce some new characters. Well I hoped you enjoyed now on to the reviews:

Atropos' Knife: In terms of classmates, well let's just say we just saw some old and new candidates. Also I agree, Himiko doesn't seem to have a lot of luck with men, brother murdering Ban, stalker Kagami and now my very own psycho. And of course I'm overjoyed that you like how the story is going so far, I just gotta maintain!

Rabid Lola: I'm happy Laughing Phantom caught your interest and the comparison to Emishi was welcome as he is quite the kick ass character. For Himikos attackers good thing you liked them because they (or their companions) will be back. As for hitting Ban go for it! The guys had it coming for awhile now for going with Hevn in my opinion…

Anyway, I hope you had fun guys and gals and I'll see you when I see you…hopefully soon.


	6. The Walk and Wait

Disclaimer: Come on, think it through do I sound…err…write rich?

Authors Notes: Besides saying "I'm back." "Please forgive the lateness!" There really isn't much else; thanks for reviews are on bottom. Let's start the show.

Dominus Grim

Chapter Six: The Walk and Wait

Outside the cursed building, the hell of hells on Earth, was parked a small white Subaru. This in itself was not odd, people had a right to park their cars right? Even if the spot was illegal, a person still physically could park. What was strange, what could be construed as being out of place were the twin trails of blood along with bodily indentations leading towards the building…the aptly named "Aku no Kami" off shoot of hell.

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Her throat was sore, very sore. She felt her limbs bound up and despite not actually touching her vials, Himiko Kudo knew that her weapons or more to the point her personal extensions of her power were not on her person. Slowly, ever so slowly the big lead up to how she had ended up where she was came back…the fight with the woman hating match user and then…this? Today was not a good day, maybe this one of the few jobs to be passed? Slowly again, she began to open her eyes, and only after that did she immediately regret doing so.

"Good morning, lover." Laughing Phantom said, his outwardly handsome yet internally hellish face only millimeters from hers. By force of reflex, Himiko jerked her head back only to find her neck delicately but quite firmly chained up. The same could be said of the rest of her body, the exception being the delicateness of course. Her arms and legs were all chained in a somewhat spread eagle style, though loose enough to the point where she had circulation no matter how limited.

"What?" Phantom asked with almost genuine curiosity, backing his head up and sniffing his breath by cupping his hand over his mouth. "Do I offend?" Himiko scowled, both at the Phantom and at herself. This was at least the second time she had been in danger just today, a fact that did not sit well with her drive for professionalism. Drawn out of her thoughts by the again approaching Phantom, Himiko struggled slightly within her bonds.

"Come on now, do you really have to struggle? Other than making things more arousing for me, you're just tiring yourself out. Meats no good stringy if you know what I mean." the malicious betrayer said, bringing his face, more specifically his lips closer and closer to Himikos' who, despite everything, was blushing slightly. Just as the sociopaths lips shadowed the wincing Himikos' his eyes bulged a touch and he backed off hastily, a hand covering his casually smirking face.

"Ah, 'puppet scent' my little minx. Almost let myself become your slave…I might have considered it if you were wearing some black leather but what are you going to do?" Himiko felt her breath catch as her trump was quickly lack for a better term _trumped_. Casually waving his hand in front of his nose, Laughing Phantom sat down on a half cut down stone column, taking out a garishly long cigarette and lighting it. After taking a puff, Phantom looked over at Himiko, his eyes narrowing in what looked like a kind of barely contained joy.

"You're probably wondering why I invited you here." Himiko nearly balked out loud but realized that pointing out the fact that she was choked and brought here would probably not help her case. Instead, the Lady of Poisonous Substance would have to take other actions. For Himiko though, the consideration would have to wait, as some shuffling from the Laughing Phantom distracted her. However, it was what came after that stopped her entire body cold.

"Do you like it? I have a feeling you look _positively ravishable_ in white." Himiko was at a loss for words. For in Laughing Phantoms hands, looking odd with the chains slinked out of his sleeves: was a very beautiful, very elaborate wedding dress. Despite having one, possibly two admirers, (and forgoing the fact that oddly enough one of those admirers was **also** a blond haired sociopath), Himiko Kudo was not well versed in the language of love and courtship. As such her reactions to such endeavors tended to be a bit emotional, more so when the admirer had a tendency towards the homicidal.

"Are you fucking crazy?" she yelled out, Laughing Phantom simply stared. Not taken aback at all, he put a finger to his chin.

"What should we name the kids…how about Shinji? Nah, only pussies who are slaves to their daddies are named that…John…Paul…George…Ringo? Or how about…Yamato?" this caught the captive girls attention. Himiko opened her mouth slightly to ask, out of reaction, but quickly caught herself and closed her mouth. But, vicious predators tend to have sharp eyes and Laughing Phantom was no different.

"Yes, your brother: Yamato Kudo. Partnered with you and one Ban Mido as thieves." Phantom stopped, waiting for some kind of verbal reaction from the chained girl, hearing none, he continued with a contented sigh.

"You and your brother are both…or were both witches. "Voodoo Children" with a very elaborate curse on your heads, I kinda doubt your dear old brother has to worry about that though…you know, him being deader than dead and all." Himiko felt a myriad of emotions from this statement. Fear from having such significant parts of her life explained to her, anger at the mirth this man elicited from it, and somewhere within her mind sadness pervaded from the memories no sixteen year old should have to experience.

"How…do you know this…" she asked, bowing her head slightly with half lidded eyes. Laughing Phantom was too busy doing a faux ballroom dance with the wedding dress to answer immediately but sobered up quick.

"How do I…know you say? Well I'm not confined to these damn walls! In fact, after Akabane left, yeah, that's about when I decided to take off from this place and have some fun outside. So, I keep my 'chain' in a lot of pies, especially around Shinjuku. And the Voodoo children pop up every now and then. Not so much now though for…**obvious**…reasons." Himiko kept a growl under her breath as the meaning behind that came through. Thinking or rather hoping that Phantom was bored now Himiko was disappointed and terrified to find Phantom again only a few scant feet away.

"I know you, Himiko Kudo. I know about your brother, your roots, your curse, your history and if things go the way they have been set in motion…your future." The witch girl could feel her body shaking, as if this verbal violation had broken her down for a spiritual deconstruction. "I know about your personality, your likes, your dislikes…your crushes on certain blue eyed men…and coincidently your first wet dre" Phantom stopped himself, again, his lips so temptingly close to the angrily blushing Himikos. With a sigh, this time of frustration, Laughing Phantom turned to the adjoining hallway. Extending into the darkness, the Torturous Betrayer peered outward, feeling and sensing a kindred spirit.

"Akabane is coming isn't he?" Himiko asked. Whirling his head almost quick enough to topple his flat topped derby, Phantom considered his options and his memories.

"Yeah, but by the time our boy toy gets here, he won't be little Aka-Chan." Himiko would have asked for him to elaborate, but that was not important right now, rather, what was important was the shimmer of scent vials a few dozen feet or so away. Then, the reality of what was just said, sunk in.

"What…do you mean, not himself?" Phantom planted his cigarette back between his lips and sat back down on the pillar, content to just smoke casual puffs. Himiko was torn between her plan to escape and her curiosity regarding The Jackal. Before any further mental debate could be waged between the logical and the emotional, Phantom brought Himiko back to Earth.

"I like surprises, and you should too. So, let's just say that with every step Aka-Chan takes down these hollowed halls, he comes closer and closer to getting a surprise himself." Himiko could fathom some of what was said, and from what she could gather it was not exactly beneficial to the transportation assignment. Himiko thought about asking for a better explanation to this, but soon figured it would be better to focus on her escape…except…she could swear that Laughing Phantom was staring…even…possibly…

0000000000

"Is he still typing?" Kanryu asked to the figure in white as he walked into the chamber. Positioning his body into a lean against a random wall, Kanryu looked over at the said woman in white.

"Yes, he's been analyzing that damn book non-stop ever since he 'acquired' it." Ms. Hai responded.

"Shit…**Shit!**" Harukai muttered, and then making sure all would hear what he said the first time yelled.

"Something wrong Harukai? I take it things didn't go so well?" Ms. Hai asked, her red lips shining like fresh blood from beneath her hat, made all the more effective to the paleness of her skin.

"You're damn right something's wrong you stupid bitch! I got pulled out by that asshole Phantom!" Harukai bellowed his shoulders quaking up and down in un-expelled rage.

"Come now. You knew as well as the rest of us that Phantom is the **least** likely to follow orders. His dubious intentions were factored in and everything went off fine." Ms. Hai responded the calmness and elegance in her voice off set by something like a not too well suppressed blood lust.

"Fine…**fine?** You call a stupid cow dying thinking she had the upper hand over me, fine?" Harukai yelled out, stomping closer and closer to Ms. Hai, whose face remained in smile. Kanryu could only look on at Harukai, as if he had seen this situation a hundred thousand times before.

"In terms of the plan, yes. I feel everything is going just fine. As far as your hatred towards the fairer sex and your 'urge' to kill them…well, go find a corner or something." Harukai stopped dead in his tracks, the rage being processed all over his face. The fact that a woman was telling him off was not enough, no, the woman had to just stand there and wait for his response.

"I hate you," he mumbled, looking down slightly. "I hate you and your damn fairer sex!" Harukai screeched, lighting four matches in each hand. About to bear his arms down on the woman in ivory clothes, he was stopped by Kanryu appearing in front of him and stopping his right arm with his left elbow.

"Enough, of all the things we could be doing, this is the least productive." Harukai growled and stared at his oldest friend. Then, knowing that Kanryu knew him better than anyone, decided to relent; dropping his lit matches to the wet cobblestone floor. Ms. Hai continued to smile, but this time directed her blue eyes towards Kanryu.

"Thank you for being such a gentleman Kanryu. Stepping in to defend a lady like that." Kanryu regarded the woman from beneath his gas mask and practically snorted a reply.

"Bull, I was defending Harukai from you. You may think we're ignorant but at least pretend you consider us equal, for now anyway." Hai's smile dropped a touch.

"You're so serious Kanryu-San; why not learn to enjoy yourself a bit?" Harukai at this point had leant himself to a wall, sliding down and resting on his rear for a bit of rest.

"Enjoy myself? I just told you I'm not ignorant," Kanryu raised his right hand a bit and gazed at it for a few seconds before clenching a fist. The typing that had been occurring in the back ground darkness stopped just then as four scalpels slid out from between Kanryu's knuckles. "Hmm, so this is what it's like?" the man in the mask asked to no one in particular, slowly dropping the supposedly surgical tools one by one. With the darkness of the room, combined with the reflective qualities of the puddled water, the dropped knives created quite a light show for all of a second.

"You're both fashionably late. Have you been taking lessons from the Bastard?" came the garbled voice in the direction of the seven key boards. When the lights flashed, for just a brief second, from the ceiling down towards the average height of any man, woman or child, glowed several dozen glowing nooses. As the lights went, so did the nooses, but in their place was left a man.

"I don't know about the filth-blood behind me, but I come baring trash gifts for trash people." Stated the voice of the man in what looked to be a long sleeved red and black shirt, brown scraggly pants, and lace less almost felt boots. Ending his lanky to the point of being gangly look was a gigantic straw hat, which covered most of his face, save his yellow streaked black hair which went down his neck a ways.

"Hangman-_San_, how nice to see you consider us worthy of your presence." Ms. Hai said, the honorific itself neutral but still forced. Harukai snorted from his position in the back, not really caring that this new player was holding a seven and a half foot farmers scythe.

"I just called you trash. I was not being subtle, the lot of you, including you Kusano," Hangman said pointedly, referring to the darkened computers section. "Disgust me."

"You would consider the Lord on High trash compared to your _greatness _Hangman." The group assorted looked back to one of the rooms only two entry ways, the other being in the dark with the computers having long been discarded. From that entrance casually walked in a woman. Though, with the exception of gender, she had nothing in common with the only female of the room. The woman entering was pretty enough, long black hair, tied into a short and tight braid, and a face that could be called pretty had it not always been in an animals scowl or hid under by a black and white bandanna. What set this woman apart from others too was her clothes were incredibly unfeminine, boyish without a doubt and also the two headed albatross on her shoulder, but that's relative.

"Shizuka, the result of dirty dirty beastie blood, heh. Bad enough you're a woman, but a genetic fuck up as well." Harukai said without muttering, loud enough for two rooms over to hear. Shizuka didn't react to him rather to the polite enough greeting from Ms. Hai, the nod from Kanryu and the spit from Hangman.

"So what, if you don't mind me asking, happens the fuck now?" Harukai asked, getting to his feet and lighting up a joint.

"Yes, Ms. Hai, up until now we've done nothing but alert Akabane to us being here." Kanryu said. Hangman then shifted his left hand, which had been holding a rope from over his shoulder.

"What's wrong gutter boy, is 'Kanryu no Kazaana' scared shitless of big bad Jackal?" he asked, the grin he mustered more disgusting then much at that point. Harukai slammed his teeth together eliciting a very guttural noise, but before he could advance on the waiting Hangman, he was held back by Kanryu.

"Jackal is stronger than we were, but if he makes the assumption that we're the same men-"

"He'll get his ass burned!" Harukai blurted out from behind Kanryu, a double threat towards Akabane and the still smirking Hangman.

"Could you all stop posturing for two seconds? I want to know what it is we have to do and get it done, that's all." Shizuka said.

"Yes, for the sake of those of us with decency could you swing your respective man hoods down the hall or something?" a hand slamming down on a few keyboards resonated in the chamber, drawing all their attention.

"I wish to know for a fact why Luther and Hirutsuai are not present." The voice, the one called Kusano said, though garbled enough could be understood.

"Luther's probably off sulking, and Hirutsuai being his guardian is probably with him." Shizuka replied, stroking the albatross absentmindedly. Invisibly, the speaker faced Ms. Hai.

"I trust you know what you're doing?" Ms. Hai nodded twice.

"Of course, Akabane can and will be broken one of two or maybe even both ways. The quick and the slow." She said, her lips seeming to relish every word regarding the subject.

"Then do it, I have work to do and you're all distracting in more ways than one." Given their cue, the members of the group slowly exited: with Harukai giving the one handed salute to the computer man in shadow, Kanryu just leaving and Hangman holding up the rest.

"Not that I value your opinion in any conceivable way but where can I dump these two?" Hangman said, referring to what his over shoulder noose was tied to, namely, a blond and brunette duo of retrieval agents. The now agitated voice garbled a quick reply.

"Give them to Shizuka. She'll guide those two back to the Bastard." One whistle later and a faceless lion made its way into the chamber, lifting the retrievers on its back and soon following its retreating mistress. Seeing Shizuka leave, Ms. Hai turned her head to give her order.

"Now Hangman I'll need you to-"but the Hangman in question was now gone. Smiling with ruby red lips still, Ms. Hai continued. "His needs play into our intentions perfectly, eh Kusano?" no response given but the furious typing and flashing of screens.

0000000000

The hallways of this place have already been established as death zones, and in a place designated as "The Worst of Mans Own Hells" this is saying something. If one were to traverse the hallways at this particular moment in time however, they would have a fraction of a chance at survival as the horrid creatures that were once men and women are now for lack of a better point: dead as ribbon piles.

"Jaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccckkkkkkkkkallllllll!" came the chorusing sound of the formers as they rushed out of random trap doors and fake walls, all lumbering towards the single man in black whose scalpels were still bloody from slaying the last batch.

"Ah, my fans." Akabane said, his smile growing. Lazily dodging a few swipes and jabs from the early birds who got to him first, The Jackal then stepped up as the formers began ripping up each others and their own limbs to use as projectile weapons. His speed increased, The Jackal was also easily able to dodge acidic vomit that the creatures choked up at the cost of what was left of their internal organs. Tenths of a second later, the next small army of formers was strewn to pieces, creating a layer of remains about two feet thick rising from the ground floor. Cleaning his scalpels of whatever bodily fluid they may have inadvertently picked up in the skirmish, Akabane then quickly wiped away the blood and gore from his face as well as the thin layer of sweat that had formed. That having been the ninth squad of formers he had fought, this action was understandable.

Considering for a moment the option of using the trap doors and/or fake walls that the creatures had come through, Akabane then decided against it for as memory served:

"The quickest way is a curved path straight." He murmured to himself, glad to finally ascertain a useful memory about his place more relevant to his assignment, that and the fact that the trap doors and fake walls could and most likely did lead each other and other not necessary places to visit for the time being. Continuing his walk, Akabane was about to turn his speed up until of course, like clockwork, a new batch of formers appeared.

_"They're sending out more and more of the vicious ones."_ The transporter thought to himself, dodging the various attacks his opponents made. Cutting down the group with little trouble, Akabane was soon attacked by another group. They two were cut down: allowing him to travel down the tunnel further. Soon, another group, then another, then another then…

0000000000

"Oh, this is going to be orgasmic. Just a little more Jackal-Kun." Laughing Phantom said having long finished his last cigarette and now on his third. Taking a long dramatic drag on it before exhaling a layer of smoke, The Laughing Clown in black started laughing so hard the feather in his hat nearly slipped out. Himiko broke her concentration for a moment to assess the situation.

Akabanes' aura was steadily growing, not only in amount but in ferocity too. What had started as a cool and professional aura of a man with a destination was quickly becoming the vicious and calculating aura of a man possessed.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Ah, took awhile huh? Sorry for taking so long, you all know: standard reasons and all that. I'll try to be more frequent with the updates, but I can't pinky swear that, not yet anyway.

Kore Yan: Well, I hope what Laughing Phantom wanted with Himiko didn't scar you and as for the car, well, two big names in this series of just been involved in this lovely little tale. Thank you for your review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Rabid Lola: Hey thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you found both the classmates interesting and Laughing Phantom creepy. I guarantee you, the story more and more sordid from here on, especially regarding a certain clown. Also, I just want to say I read most of "The Promise" I just want to finish it, and then I'll review. Needless to say, I've enjoyed greatly so far.

Rami: Thank you for your kind review and I can promise you that while Akabane may be going towards Himiko, rescue isn't necessarily on the agenda.

Atropos' Knife: You're too kind, I just have too many ideas flitting around in my head that have nothing to do with the monsters under my bed, entirely anyway. As for Laughing Phantom and Himiko, well 'not legal' can be taken a few different ways I guess. Asking Himiko now she would no doubt plead a crime. On another note, you got me with the Get Backers. I just wanted to get them involved in this so bad, too bad their introduction to this world was less than friendly. For the whole 'carrot' 'karat' thing, you got me again, though a madman who fights with vegetables…possibilities? Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Chibi Jackal: Heh, thank you for your compliment, it really makes writing the story more fulfilling to hear (read?) something like that. For the classmates, I hope you liked the new ones I put in and look forward to a few more! Oh and for Laughing Phantom, don't let him hear you call him cute, his head could actually get…bigger? At this point I don't think that's possible.

Well guys and gals, it's been a trip. Until next time, I'll see you all when I see you.


	7. The Horrible Clown

Disclaimer: No denying it, I don't own Get Backers…really! I have proof!

Authors Notes: See Bottom.

Dominus Grim

Chapter Seven: The Horrible Clown

_"…you say…there's a place for us?" _

_"Yes, go south. Follow the scent of blood, you'll find your place there."_

_"But what about you? If this is a place for our kind, why did you leave?" _

_"Because…my turn was up."_

0000000000

Another batch of Formers was now ribbons, adorning the turn in the hall like a maniacs New Years celebration. Akabane, this being the twenty first squad cut down, was now panting heavily. Oddly, the amount of blood on Akabane was disproportionate to the amount of blood in the room…or the sweat dripping off his face. Waiting a few moments for more of the opposition and finding none, Akabane took out his 'J' embroidered handkerchief and began wiping the perspiration off his face. Then, realizing what he was doing, changed his action to delicately wiping off the sweat.

_"Funny, I would have that memory now of all times."_ Akabane thought to himself. A minute eventually went by, then two and finally three. _"I'm still so…winded."_ Akabane knew why. Cutting down any number of life forms was nothing for the man who fashioned homicide as a hobby. No, what was exhausting wasn't an external conflict but rather the turmoil going on within him. _"Half my strength towards them and half to keep myself…polite,"_ Akabane could not take his thought any further as he pushed himself to continue on. As the devils luck would have it, Formers batch numbers twenty-two and twenty-three then chose that time to swarm.

_"Half is not enough." _ Akabane tore through a good deal of the creatures in front of him, using the now changing physical structure of the hall to his advantage. Cutting monsters to death was made easier by a ceiling that bounded up into the heavens and walls that spread and narrowed with every drop of blood. Finally slashing his enemies away to the point where he had a sphere of non-combat, the Jackal hunched ever so slightly.

"Enough…Bloody Torrent." Akabane muttered in frustration, having to wield one of his special moves against creatures that were spiritually dead to begin with rather than a nice screaming human opponent. With a snap of his right hand, several dozen scalpels jettisoned themselves from the Jackals arms, chest, and general body. Using the little bit of blood on their tips to ricochet off anything but cloth or flesh, the knives bounced and bolted off the walls, rapidly gaining speed until all the monsters that had once, or perhaps never, had the title of human, were reduced to what would become puddles of blood and human fluid.

"I didn't…enjoy that." None of the remains had the letter 'J'. Akabane felt a pulse, a throb. Kneeling a bit, Jackal gingerly took the time to clean off his mostly red black shoes and try to keep his shallow breathing from triggering anything else.

_"Miss Himiko, please wait for me. I know you're not dead, a professional would never allow that."_ Straightening himself, dusting off his still oddly clean clothes and dabbing away the last lingering bits of blood from his face, the Jackal looked no worse for ware, save the light flush across his cheeks. _"Simply being here; these people, these walls, they give off a scent, a presence all their own. I feel as though, I'm being pulled towards something."_

"Kusano who do you plan to benefit from all this?" Jackal asked to no one, yet knowing he was in some shape or form being watched.

0000000000

She had done it, through sheer force of will; Himiko had guided the vapor trail from one of her vials up and away towards her. Splitting her concentration was not easy though.

"What do you want with me? With the Jackal or that book?" Himiko asked, hoping to keep the Laughing Phantom befuddled with questions just long enough. The homicidal maniac in question spun on his heels and looked towards Himiko, letting his eyes narrow and drift here and there.

"With you? I want you to bear my child of course. Mixing blood lines seems like an interesting pass time, and you'll be the first! Can you imagine the child of perfection like me and a witch's blood!" Laughing Phantom yelled like one preaching the virtues of Alchemic gold creation. Himiko lost all of her concentration for a moment and felt her neck go limp at the possible future presented to her.

"As for your other questions…," Phantom went on, characteristically un-phased by the girls' reaction. "I don't want shit with the Jackal, well, not all true; if he starts doing things the 'good way' then I'll want to catch up with…him of course." Himiko was sweating now, praying to any and all Lords on high that Phantom didn't notice. Apparently he didn't. "And lastly, regarding the book…I've read it already so it's for Big Boss…Kusano." The chink of chains giving way, along with the sound of a few more chains giving way, through the Phantom from his rants towards his now guest, as opposed to captive.

"You're truly, save possibly one, **the** most disgusting man I have ever met!" Laughing Phantom looked caught in mid grin, his mouth open and everything, but soon found his smirk from beneath his derby.

"Oh Himiko…I've been watching you for so long…my feelings are genuine! Missus Himiko Phantom!" suddenly the wedding dress seemed to reappear in Laughing Phantoms hands as he pretended to make out with the area where the head should be. Himiko twitched in disgust, but being one to take advantage of a situation, Lady Poison quickly gathered up her belt of poison vials from the nearby table.

"You bastard, you don't care about anything. Change your last name to hedonist you pig!" Himiko raised one of her vials and kept another in her opposite hand just in case. Laughing Phantom on the other hand, pardoning the pun, had dropped the wedding dress. His left chain, the one not sticking out into the darkness of an adjoining hall, jingled and jangled a bit in his sleeve.

"You don't want to try, believe me." Laughing Phantom said through a rapidly degenerating face. His eyes locked with Himikos', Himiko suppressed the urge to look away and thus hesitate due to the vicious promises the eyes gave, instead she popped the stopper off of one her vials and sniffed. Laughing Phantoms eyes shot open an inch or two as Lady Poison appeared behind him. Not giving her opponent time to breathe, Himiko brought down her other vial.

"You like that, you bastard?" she asked, knowing her Erosion perfume had probably dissolved the madman into vapor. Then, 'knowing' can really just be a gussied up form of 'assumption' as Himiko found her target as a coiled ball of eroding chains, rather than the man she was hoping for.

"Acceleration scent, right? Doesn't do your body too good from what I've heard." Phantom said, his face almost wavering between devil and devilish man. Himiko didn't stop to analyze her opponents obvious speed advantage or even try to increase her speed again. Instead she considered her options.

"I just want to know how exactly…you broke my chains. If you're going to be like this on the honeymoon then I think we're in for a fun marriage." Himiko backed away slowly, keeping her eyes on the Phantom. Despite not answering his question, the vicious clown seemed to get all his answers from simply looking at her. "Ah, some kind of Current Manipulation am I right? Wind control, nah, too complicated for that…probably more like control of probability itself. You spread one of your perfumes, weakening the chains while I was being oh so adorable?" Himiko grimaced, this monster even knew of the techniques she had only recently been perfecting.

"You seem to know a lot about me, can I ask something of you?" Himiko asked, steadying the two vials in her hands. This halted the Laughing Phantom.

"Anything my dear."

"Do you find a woman trying her damndest to kill you, beautiful?" before Phantom could respond, Himiko, the Acceleration Perfume still within her, was in front of him, twirling her body, casting two perfumes at once.

"Shit, my little bitch-chan!" he yelled jumping back, feeling the edges of his sleeves beginning to erode and burn. The two looked each other down, one raising vials, another, a chain. Hearts were beating to clocks as they inched towards conflict…that is until several scalpels flew out from the darkened hall. The blades serrated the chains snaking their way towards Himiko back while simultaneously cutting a slit in Phantoms hat causing him to grin like no other.

0000000000

His life hadn't been easy from day one and the fact that his skull was being prodded repeatedly made all the sins, murder and promises of hell almost preferable.

"Ban-Chan, please wake u-**Ah!**" Gingi Amano yelled as the once prostrate Ban Mido awoke and smacked him across the head.

"Gingi, todays been tough enough, cut the poking shit, ne?" Ban asked, searching for and relived to find his body still intact as well as Gingis'.

"Sorry Ban, it's just weird being alone, especially in this place." The former Lightning Lord said, rubbing his head and staring at the large square of a room that he and his fellow Get Backer were now occupying. Their was some light, and odd yellowish light, that only seemed to poke through the darkness were it felt like, and only then in narrow beams too small to really be of any use. "Where…are we Ban?" Gingi almost stammered, not liking the foreboding and sickening, not to mention all too reminiscent aura this place gave off. The blond turned to the brunette, to whom he trusted for answers.

"I don't know Gingi. Damn, I didn't think a place like this could be real," Ban muttered, half to Gingi, half to himself. Though nowhere near as showy about it as his partner was, Ban too felt the slithering depth of this place. The way the aura given off by the walls just seemed to both hang in the air and creep into the flesh made **his** flesh crawl. "It's like some kind of nightmare…straight out of the Jagan." He joked darkly, getting up and dusting himself off.

"Yeah, no doubt. Wait, Ban, how the heck did we-"Gingis question was cut short by his own memory. They had arrived at the building, Himikos tracking perfume had led them the first half, and the aura of the location had _guided_ them the rest of the way. "We must've been attacked from behind."

"No shit Gingi, come on, let's get moving."

"Sorry Ban, I guess I'm just not used to being ambushed like you-"the former Lightning Lord was again belted across the skull.

"Now where were we? Let's go Blondie chop chop." Ban began leading the way with a tearing Tare Gingi using his cone arms to massage the two bumps on his head. Ban, though angry, had his memories of the incident too. The return to the Honky Tonk, the tab paid off then already doubled. HEVN taking her fee, squeezing HEVN's breasts. Then that breeze…

"Damn Himiko…what have you gotten into now?" Ban said to himself. Though a now normal Gingi heard and smiled.

"Hey Ban?"  
"Yeah?"

"How do you know where we're going, I mean, you know right?" Gingi asked. Ban turned around to a face his best friend, a grave stare etched on his face.

"Gingi, after all the hells we've been through, you have the nerve to ask that?" Gingi felt guilty for doubting Ban and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry Ban-Chan I should know better to have faith in you." Ban smiled in response.

"Thanks Gingi…by the way I think we're lost." He added the last part nearly muted. Though the sound of a body being electro-shocked could be heard quite clearly.

At around that time, in a chamber that could have been a part of that one or very possibly not, someone cast a smirk of frustration and contempt.

"Hey…you hear that?" Ban asked, the blackened dead skin already flaking off. Gingi perked up as a confused look adorned his face.

"Wait, that sounds kind of familiar…" the whistle that traveled the walls of the chamber was familiar and quite off. As though the whistle was being inverted and made to sound 'backwards', the results were oddly fitting.

"What the hell? Hey, is that you monk-"Ban was stopped short as a stampede of various animals charged from the darkness of the hall. Ban and Gingi were about to say something, but then found themselves saying something else when the saw the animals. Lions without faces, Bears with horridly longer limbs, Albino red eyed gorillas, two headed, even three headed dogs and cats. The Get Backers could only curse with the animals made vicious coming right at them, and having no choice but to run the opposite way, they ran. Deeper into the darkened chamber with only ever thinning beams of yellow light to guide them across the wet cobblestone floor, the two retrievers ran, running into what they could only hope were slightly moist walls.

0000000000

"Akabane?" Himiko asked, not knowing or not being able to act on the fact that she was beginning to shiver. The Jackal in question was sashaying out of the dark hall, his arm and hand still extended slightly from the scalpels he just threw. Resting his arm, he looked up from beneath his hat.

"I trust you're relatively unharmed my dearest Lady?" Akabane said, as cordial as ever, not hearing or simply not answering her question. Himiko nodded but found herself trying to calm the irrational thoughts her mind was concocting. Though The Jackal looked the same, save a few hard to reach spots of red and a few various other colors on his suit, Himiko could not shake the sickness from her stomach or her mind. Almost as if for that moment, the dark hellish spirits of the building had met their fallen angel.

"Aka-Chan. Are you with the bride or the groom?" Laughing Phantom asked, his left chain shaking slightly from within his sleeve into the darkness behind him. Bringing his eyes to bear on Akabane, Lady Poison stifled a gasp as Laughing Phantoms irises changed from blue-green to metallic liquid red. Akabane didn't answer, simply smiled his smile and walked until he was about ten paces away from Phantom and five from Himiko.

"Jackal, are you?" Himiko began, subconsciously fearing that Jackals ferocious aura would devour her before anything else.

"Oh, just fine Miss Himiko. Just feeling a bit, stifled, that's all." Akabane being ever courteous lifted his hat to meet the eyes of Himiko. To her shock, Himiko found The Jackals eyes to be shifting between his normal violet orbs to a metallic red liquid similar to a certain psychotic clown. From behind her, came the laughter.

"Heh, heh. Yeah Jacky-Kun, you're so stuffed up, time to let it all out, have some fun, we're pals here right?" Laughing Phantom said, sauntering towards the pair of Transporters, his long black overcoat. Himiko kept her vials at the ready, only to have a hand placed on her shoulder.

"Please Miss Himiko, let me. I'd rather not have you dirtying yourself against such an unworthy piece of human trash." The woman was taken aback, only a bit. Kuroudo Akabane had shown emotion, rage, if only in the slightest amount, and broken his normal polite manner of speech. Himiko let herself be gently guided, or rather gently pushed to the wayside by Akabane. Now, the two men who held life at zero regard were left to regard each other.

"Tell me Jackal, what's it like? What's it feel like to be back among these walls and to be able to sniff this air again?" Phantom asked, standing perfectly still save a slight tug on the chain from his left arm.

"I fail to see the logic behind that question Phantom-Kun. You left as well, am I correct?" Akabane responded. Phantom nodded his head rapidly, like a child admitting to liking candy.

"Yeah I left and it was great. Oh the stuff I did and the people I did it to…but this isn't about me." Phantom stopped himself from enjoying his memories, to this Akabane smiled.

"Actually, it would seem this is about you." Akabane said. Within the span of a blink, he had disappeared. A black dashing image with hints of silver, towards an equally black opponent. Phantom grinned, and brought his loose chain, his right chain out from his sleeve and swung it in two gigantic arcs, creating two showers of sparks where he deflected the attacking Jackal. So wide were the arcs however, that Himiko had to duck and dodge to avoid becoming like the apparently non-structurally necessary walls.

Brought back to his original standing position, Akabane was now on the defensive as the chain swung out at him in several furious spasms. In a return shower of sparks, Akabane managed to deflect the chain in all of its attempts on him, his scalpels vibrating slightly like miniature tuning forks as the result.

"Come on now, I thought you knew me Aka?" Phantom quipped retracting the chain back up into his right sleeve. "You know I only fight the fights I like to fight, the big ol' ones that make hell." Himiko raised an eyebrow.

_"What the hell is going on here? He doesn't want to fight…then what was that chain for?"_

"I see you haven't changed at all, murder is only second in your heart…" Akabane began.

"To torture, yes." Phantom finished, his eyes now a searing red. Phantom then lightly tugged on his left chain. Though the movement itself was only slight, Himiko and Akabane could feel the movement being transferred along the metal links and down the adjoining hall.

"Another aura, another person?" Himiko asked to Akabanes' back.

"Yes…and no." Akabane replied, understanding Himikos' confusion. Since Laughing Phantom had no discernable aura, a new one present would of course cause some questions. From down the hall came a lumbering sound. The sound of heavy feet plodding along as if weighted, and as the sound approached, the chain began moving more and more.

"Coal-Kun, I trust you had a good nap?" Phantom asked joyously towards the creature that entered. The clown could feel Himikos eyes widen in proportion to Akabanes narrowing slightly.

"Wha-what the…what is…" the Mistress of Poison Vials was at a loss.

"His ability, Miss Himiko, Laughing Phantoms special ability. He has the power to control any life form," the creature in question came into the scarce light, a man of about five foot six, orange and black shirt, torn white shorts, no shoes, hair that was somehow black, with streaks of red and white as well. These were all relatively normal traits, no, what was odd about this creature was his skin going in out of an all body flush, and the visible ripples in the air this flush caused. Similarly and more disturbingly, was the chain coming out of the back of his neck, connected to the innards of a left sleeve. "Laughing Phantom can control any life form, provided he rips off a part of their body and connects one of his…chains to it." Himiko could feel the bile in her stomach rise, though through practice and experience she had long learned to suppress it.

Seeing the equal parts disgust and annoyance in his audience, Laughing Phantom stared laughing, laughing hard. Between laughs he managed to squeeze out:

"You want to know **which **body part I pulled out?" seeing no desire for the answer to this question, Phantom answered, "He talked too much, the bastard, so I ripped out his dumb shit tongue…neat huh?" Himiko felt her legs threaten to go out, and the fact that Laughing Phantom was laughing almost violently at this and who knows what else made standing up straight a near impossibility. Akabane looked at the creature, the man Phantom called Coal, and then to Phantom. With a sigh, he put the situation into his perspective.

"So like you."

To Be Continued.

Authors Notes: Took a little while, but hey seven pages, not bad huh? Hope you all enjoyed, now on to the reviews!

Atropos' Knife: Hope this chapter in my ever evil deconstruction of Akabane didn't disappoint. Oh and if you like Jackal sweaty, then you might like him more so in the future chapters (I'm freaking myself out, hard to do.) As far as the Beast Ladys connection to that certain Beast Man, give it time. I guarantee the result is going to surprise you. Before I forget I also would like to thank you for the information you gave me on Kurusu Masaki, it was greatly appreciated. (I'll thank you in the next chapter of that story but who know when that'll be?) Thank you for reviewing and thank you for wishing me luck in school. It would be so much easier if I had the Jagan…

Rabid Lola: Heh, I see you noticed Phantoms ahem…unique sense of capture and conversation, the guys special that's for sure. On what you said about Harukai, let's just say that the guys got some **serious** issues that will be discussed later on. Hangman too…man I can't wait to start dropping all these character bombs! On the tragic subject of my grammar and punctuation, I'll do my best, but right now it's all about the story…and school and work…yeah, that stuff too…eventually.

Kore Yan: I hope I didn't freak you out too much with what Phantom wanted with Himiko. Like I said to Rabid Lola, the guys got some interesting hobbies. And don't worry about being slow, for me it's at least a weekly occurrence, for the duration of the school year anyway.

Well I had fun, did you have fun? It's late now, so I'll see you all when I see you.


	8. The Only Way

Disclaimer: I own the Get Backers like I own the Internet…if I did I would demand payment…which is why I'm asking.

Author's Notes: Several factors have kept me from getting back to this story both in real life and regarding other stories (Not the least of which I have been catching up on some Get Backers lore, I think I'm up to about volume eight in the manga and I just recently watched the end of the Mugenjou arc of the anime (Makubex got off way too easy in my opinion). I will do my best to update more regularly but don't lose hope I do intend on finishing this story! Now to the show.

Dominus Grim

Chapter Eight: The Only Way

The winds were beginning to pick up again; this well suited the already gray sky which the horribly defiant building seemed to rob of all light. Night was not too far away, and a storm would come as well. Looking out towards the nearest city that long ago decided that the Aku no Kami was not worth even their judgment rather it was just something 'there' were two figures on a ledge, one sitting, one standing as he always did over his ward.

"What do you think…Hirutsuai?" Luther asked to his ever-standing guardian. To which the man in an almost all encompassing ebony shawl turned and replied.

"About what…Lu-Kun?" the violet haired child stood up and looked up to the jewel user and back out towards the bursting sky.

"About…why? Why would the Jackal choose now of all times to return to us and why Kusano doesn't seem to care…and…that book…" Luther took his hands out from his black jean pockets and simply let the cooling breeze rumple his loose long sleeved t-shirt. After watching his charge embrace the breeze with his eyes closed for a moment, Hirutsuai smiled.

"Can you look into thoughts yet Luther?" Luther opened his eyes, seemingly a little frustrated at the question.

"Not quite, but I am getting closer with each passing day…why bring that up?" Hirutsuai continued unhindered.

"I assume you didn't know about Kusano, regarding him and his interest in the book?" Luther dug his hands back into his pockets and sniffed the air, though whether it was from some kind of answer or if he simply had some kind of head cold from the damp atmosphere of the Aku no Kami, Hirutsuai could not be sure.

"I know that he has some kind of history with the Catholic Church, correct?" the taller man in black rested his hand on the smaller ones head and ruffled the hair slightly.

"Yes, they caused him much grief. In a sense I suppose he and that Dominus Grim are quite similar, both cast out of the holy circle that man divined from the Lords word." The two remained this way for a few moments, enjoying the cooling breeze and relaxing atmosphere that was so contrary to the life that awaited them inside.

"I know that he was cast out of Vatican City and from there, he found his way here." The two stopped, unable to continue. Rather, they looked at the world, jealous of their comfort that was jealous of their freedom. Turning their respective backs, Luther and the closely following Hirutsuai made their way down the dank ebony stair way, with only one statement leaving Luther's lips the whole time.

"This place is anarchy, he left, Jackal came, and here we are…"

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An inhuman scream along with the screech of a chain being rapidly dragged across a stone floor shot towards the Jackal. Taking a halfhearted feint left and right as the situation needed, the Transporter easily dodged the wild and haphazard punches thrown by the enslaved man Coal. A jingle of the chain by way of his master the Horrible Clown, Coal increased his speed, throwing out punches and kicks with reckless abandon. Though this effort might be considered a ticket to exhaustion, Coals face and body showed no outward sign of any kind of fatigue, rather, his speed just kept increasing.

"Alas, I was hoping you had grown out of this childish habit Phantom-Kun." Jackal stated, his eyes only lazily following his opponent. Despite the enslaved ones ever increasing speed, Akabane found little cause for concern, just an excuse to let more and more of his own inhuman speed take center stage. Backed against a corner, Jackal arched a leg out and turned his heel. Shocking only his fellow Transporter Himiko, Jackal took two steps up the wall and flipped over Coal, but not before managing to embed three scalpels in his left shoulder trailing up through the side of his neck. Coal collapsed.

"_Grown out_ you say, Kuro-Kun? My what an interesting set of words you've picked up on the outside…wouldn't you agree Coal-Kun?" Akabane quirked an eyebrow and felt an odd pull of an aura behind him. Himiko could only look on in the slightest of awe as Coal got back on his feet.

"The scalpels…they…melted?" Himiko asked, her proximity to the Laughing Phantom and the general unease that brought on momentarily forgotten.

"Closer to vaporized I'd say but yes…Jackie's beloved guitar picks never connected with my dear pets skin." Phantom said, raising his flat top derby hat and looking through the recently made slit in the brim to view the scene. His grin continued to grow along with the point of his chin, showing more and more of disturbingly perfect white teeth.

Akabane began to turn around casually, but quickly shifted about three feet to his right to avoid the rapidly descending fist. Hearing Coals fist make contact with the floor, Akabane peered through the slit in his hat and found to his slight dismay that the cobblestone floor had begun to liquefy.

"His power, Coal's power that is, is he has the ability to absorb the oxygen in a room and raise his own body temperature, the temperature of his skin in the main to quite high levels." Jackal appeared behind Coal, scalpels in hand ready to sever the chain that connected him up and through the Laughing Phantom's sleeve, in a show of macabre one-upping; Coal in turn appeared behind Jackal and due to the man in ebony's surprise, was able to land a vicious right hook to his face.

"Oh silly silly silly silly me, I forgot to mention that with all the oxygen he absorbs, Coal can move…**kinda fasty!**" Jackal rolled slightly with Coal's punch but managed to speed a few feet away. Touching the cheek that had been hit gingerly, Jackal slightly winced at the blackened dead skin that shown on his once white gloves.

"Jackal!" Himiko yelled, bringing the two vials she had in her hand to bear-

"Hold it my love! Sorry but no interruptions…" Phantom said instantaneously setting a good dozen amount of chains up and around Himiko. Though not actually binding her this time, Himiko was now caught in a very small barrier. "That my dark skinned queen of bed room eyes is a "Barrier of Lost Blood", cool huh? It's essentially a very sensitive barrier of chains smothered in the blood of the blind and deaf that will kill you in any number of ways should you disturb them…of course I'm sure you've **never **encountered anything like that with any girly men…right?" Himiko glared but felt a slight trickle of sweat. "If you're impatient though just wait a little while, the chains will go off on their own; a little breeze will set them off…its just that simple!" Phantom began to laugh again, only to be cut off as he narrowly avoided a swipe by Akabane. Seeing his miss, Akabane smiled his smile that made him worthy of his animal epithet.

"My, it is somewhat refreshing that you haven't lost your sense of humor Phantom-Kun, should you like to die laughing I wonder?" Phantom grinned in a disgusting innocence as he avoided two more swipes by Akabane who promptly had to dodge Coals incoming attack.

"More oxygen Aka-Chan, the more oxygen my Coal absorbs the faster he becomes and the more intense heat he can generate." Jackal was once again forced to dodge Coals punches only this time said punches had immense ripples in the air accompanying them. Though the punches themselves now had an incredible amount of growing heat around them, Jackal was still dodging the furious attacks with only the interest of a child trying to placate his parents. The Doctor in him wanting to experiment Jackal appeared behind Coal again, bringing his scalpels down through the mini hellish atmosphere his body created. Jumping back with a grimace turned smile, Jackal tossed away the melted stubs that were once precision medical tools while lamenting the black and silver stains on his glove.

"It would seem that normal methods of surgery are not applicable with this patient. Perhaps…a more creative approach?" Jackal mused to himself let his body fall back a bit, only to disappear in a blur of speed of again.

Meanwhile from within her chain prison, Himiko did her best to at least witness the battle. This task was made slightly more difficult by the gently rattling chains that promised death and the droplets of blood that fell on her as proof that these chains were quite good at keeping their promises.

_"Damn it! I can't just let myself…I can't just let myself be a hostage, what would my brother think…or that snake idiot?"_ silencing her thoughts, Himiko closed her eyes and let the vapors or rather forced the vapors out from within their vials. Predatory eyes turned to her, baring witness to her entrapment and the Jackals dance with death with equal parts lust and joy.

"Psst…I wouldn't…just me but you're little wind probability with scents thing…if **anything** touches or…heh…stimulates the chains they'll go off." Phantom accentuated his respect for Himiko by bending his back and putting his hand near his mouth as if whispering to an infant. The witch of the seven poison perfumes didn't respond just concentrated, which caused a slight lapse of curiosity in Phantom who promptly darted his glances back and forth between the fight and his chained lust interest.

Jackal had at this point, flipped up and bounded off a wall, throwing down a small barrier of scalpels to slow down Coal who merely turned them to liquid steel. Dodging his fists again, Jackal had only to keep increasing his speed to outmatch his opponents and the situation remained the same. This of course made it hard to cut the chain that connected Coal to Phantom.

"Cutting the chain won't do you no good like ya did my heart!" Phantom called out in a very bad singsong country western tone. "But seriously, you cut the chain at any time but one and…welly welly…we all burn in helly." Landing back on his two feet, Jackal dodged two more punches, raising the brim of his hat, the Jackal no longer smiled.

"A boring fight with only one solution…you certainly know frustration Clown-Kun." Jackal said, jumping straight up to avoid a lunging bear hug by Coal who upon missing skidded into the floor turning it to smoke and twisted cobblestone magma.

_"Yes…oh yes this is good. He's losing his precious cool...he's been gone too long and now he's so close I can taste it, no, I can **feel **it!" _Phantom thought to himself, a light drop of sweat falling from his still deformed chin. The collapse of something large brought Phantom out of his Dante style thoughts. In a rare show of slight fear, he turned around to find his chain barrier down to a few chains dissolving on the floor.

"What the…hell?" he asked, seeing Himiko standing there, her eyes opening quickly.

"You said the chains were pressure sensitive, not the blood itself. Blood has a scent, a scent can be construed as a vapor, and from there it was just a simple matter of forcing some erosion vapor into the blood on the chains." Phantom raised his left arm slowly, an ever so slightly nervous grin playing itself on his face. Allowing her opponent only a single step back, Himiko smirked and downed some of the contents of one of her vials. In an instant a jet stream of flame had shot out from her mouth, causing Phantom to dodge with a curious look on his face.

"Flame scent? Do you have a personal affinity for that or something? It's too slow my little lamb." Himiko continued smiling and shot the flames again, and again Phantom dodged them with ease while deftly swinging the chain that connected him Coal out of flames way.

"My partner is a good deal more spirited than you can handle Phantom-Kun, you would do well not to anger her." Akabane stated, looking to his Transporter compatriot. Himiko ceased her attack for a moment and looked at Akabane as best she could with his hat in the way. But their eyes managed to meet and the meaning was understood. Lady Poison then continued her assault as the now aptly laughing Laughing Phantom was guffawing heavily in tune to his casually dodging her flames.

"Spirited? I took it that Miss Himiko Kudo was the smart one of your group, if this is what defines intelligence here in the Pacific then I guess stereotypes really aren't true! Come on sweet suckling, repetition and endurance will really help you out on the wedding night!" another dodge, and the room was getting even hotter.

Jackal himself was casually dodging, almost in sync with Laughing Phantom, but unlike Laughing Phantom whose opponent showed little fatigue, Akabane found the task of ducking and dodging Coals attacks becoming easier by the second. It quickly got to the point where Coal was about as fast as a normal man, possibly slower as the weariness of the fight it seemed was finally registering within his body. Seeing his opportunity, Jackal appeared behind the tired Coal and following his blurred image was a light spray of blood from the scalpel cuts he gave in the previous eye blink. Seeing his pet in danger Phantom stopped himself and dashed out of the way of another flame stream.

"What the hell! Coal; get your lazy ass up off the ground! Your master, your daddy, your fuehrer commands it Frau Line!" Phantom then went on in what started off as some kind of faux German that then quickly degenerated into odd noises and whistles. Cut off by another jet stream, Phantom dodged but soon found his lack of concentration had affected his evasive maneuver as evidenced by the series of singes all over his left arm.

"Oh my, I certainly hope my flame scent didn't do anything to upset you Mister Phantom." Himiko said with a smirk befitting the Cheshire cat. Then it dawned on the Clown.

"You…clever little bi-…girl you." Phantom did an odd little dance while applauding. "You used your flame scent knowing that the fire would hog all the oxygen Coal would use, very-"Phantoms' exposition was cut off by the Jackal appearing at his flank, with a pair of scalpels at the ready.

"Clever, ta ta." In a moment and two flashes later, the Jackal brought down his blades only to have them deflected at the very last conceivable moment by the Phantoms' apparently semi sentient chains. Reappearing some distance away from the pair, the Phantom clutched his right shoulder where a somewhat deep cut had been eked out from what could have been a lost arm. Compounding this was a few drops of crimson from the Phantoms now less than gorgeous visage. A curious look on his face, Phantom almost shakily brought a hand to his cheeks and forehead where the cuts were located. Finding the blood on his white gloves, he then slowly, almost sensually licked it.

"It's been…so long…since I've bled…I suppose…" Phantom looked at the slowly approaching Jackal and following Himiko. "I had forgotten what my own blood tasted like…such a curious flavor it is…" Himiko winced a bit at this little confession, but dashed forward with Akabane all the same, only to have the Phantom vanish again.

"If it's your own blood you seek then why all the little shows and slaves? Why not just resign yourself to me Phantom-Kun?" Akabane asked, out of threat and of some curiosity. Phantom had served himself another drop or two of blood.

"Because I'd much rather see where Kusano takes us, he promised me that we would all go to Hell so of course I couldn't help but assist him in any manner, provided the end goal is what I imagine it to be." Himiko stifled a sharp intake of breath, Jackal quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Have a said a little too much? Consider it a sugar covered treat for my love and my bestest pal who pleasure cut me, **Coal!**" Phantom yelled to the still panting and kneeling Coal. The Clown then raised his hand and shot off some chains into the ceiling. After some jingling and jangling could be heard, a sizable chunk of the ceiling collapsed, revealing the sky.

"Did his chains just-?" Himiko began to ask.

"Yes, he was able to integrate some of his chains through manipulation of his aura into the ceiling, erasing their structural integrity through sheer force of will." Explained the Transporter, his eyes and face neutral again.

"Coal, go after the Jackal, show him what a home cooked meal is like by Laughing "Kiss the Cook" Phantom!" Laughing to the point of lunacy at his own bad humor, the sudden rise in heat and aura soon gave reason to his mirth. Turning around, Akabane found Coal, an even more intense series of heat waves being given off by his body, bearing down on him. Narrowly able to jerk his body out of direct impact from Coals fist, Jackal still felt an incredible heat accompanied by an odd smell. Finding with a start that his left sleeve was on fire, Jackal was forced back.

_"What happened? His speed has at least tripled since the last skirmish."_ Akabane thought, his back to a literal wall, and his left arm on fire. Thinking as quickly as Coal dashed forward, Jackal drove four scalpels down through the fire; cloth and skin of his left arm and let his blood commingle with the fire, naturally he grunted a bit.

"Bloody Firestorm." His blood in the fire warped and twisted the wisps and tongues of the flame into scalpels, but in shape only. The dozens upon dozens of fiery scalpels then lashed out at Coal whose body easily disregarded the knives of fire.

"I suppose I forgot to mention in all the action packed fight scenes that Coals' power is largely dependent on the amount of oxygen in the room at a given time. Before we were just in a damp little stink hole with only some sewer air…now, courtesy of my newly renovated skylight we have a (relatively) fresh supply of oxygen to give Coal a power of over one million!"

_"What the hell is he talking about?"_ Himiko thought to herself, finding Phantom distracted, she considered her next move. Given the staggering amount of oxygen in the air, her previous strategy was now a bust. Broken out of her thoughts, Himiko ducked and tumbled out of the way of a snaking chain, leaving a jagged gash where she once was.

"Aw, don't feel left out little one, come join Poppa over here now." Phantom cooed. Himiko could feel a growl in her throat but kept it down, she had to maintain control. Diving to the ground again and again, narrowly avoiding the violent lashing chain, Himiko cast some Erosion perfume and finding to her relief that the chains at least reacted to that as shown by the basic nubs they now were. "Women are just intimidated by the bigger ones I suppose." Phantom said with a well-acted "can't beat em, join em" sigh. Himiko, finding her opportunity, sniffed a careful amount of Acceleration scent and almost literally sailed across the room. Phantom, a bit off from his wounds courtesy of the Jackal and his watching Coals fight with said Jackal, was too slow to react to Himikos' first punch, or the kick that followed. However, he was able to move out of her reach as well as Coals chain out of her reach once his bearings returned.

With his left arm now cut, burnt, and lacking a decent supply of blood, Akabane was left to fight Coal with only one real usable arm. The combatants running along side each other regarded their next moves in a split second, one based on the instincts of a killer and the other on the instincts of a killer by proxy. Coal opened his palm towards the Jackal and using his other as support, fired a burst of pure heat out of his palm. Despite his speed, Jackal found himself about to be over taken.

"…Damn it all…Bloody Torrent!" in a rare yell Akabane tossed out more than a half dozen scalpels with one hand and painfully snapped his bloodily burnt fingers with the other.

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"Ms Hai?" asked a voice from what sounded like in an aquatic tank of some kind.

"Yes Kusano-Kun?" the woman in the ivory coat and matching white hat asked, the lilt in her voice at both times full of personable and disturbing qualities.

"Do you believe in our Lord?" the sound of something lifting itself out of a pool of water could be heard.

"What an odd question to ask…especially to me considering my roots." Ms. Hai responded, her blood red lips dancing to the difference in her pale white skin and shimmering black hair. Almost like a wet puzzle of all the wrong pieces being forced together, a series of odd noises was made. Then the sound of a pair of bare wet feet walking towards Miss Hai's direction.

"Yes, it is quite odd isn't it? If one were to think about you and your biological and familial ties to this 'Aku No Kami', they would not think much of your opinions concerning the existence of a higher power. But I feel that is wrong, clothes please." Ms. Hai maintained her nearly bloody smile and tossed a set of elaborate looking clothes towards the semi-wet figure in the dark. "It is wrong to disregard the faith of one based on the nature of their own being, that's the mistake the City of Vatican made, both with me and," He looked towards the computers now in standby mode "Certain other things."

"While I genuinely your appreciation of my opinions I do think we have other more pressing concerns at the moment." Kusano joined her in the light, his somewhat different looking attire belonging more to duke or possibly an archbishop. Though his feet were still bare.

"As always you cut straight to the point." Kusano said with some mirth not native on his contorted scowl of a face. Shifting his still wet hair until it dried in a wild almost feral look, Kusano casually ambled to another set of computers, Miss Hai following in an ivory sway. "The Jackal is being tested; pardon the pun, but it looks like he's being given a trial by fire." Kusano muttered, watching the live feed of the death match between Akabane and Coal.

"No cameras and yet we have full surveillance, the power of faith is something spectacular." Miss Hai said, watching the explosive point of the battle. Kusano grunted in contempt.

"This is hardly faith, more like a bastardization of alchemy if one were to be specific, but never mind that. Why the hell isn't Laughing Phantom fighting himself?"

"He only listens when it's convenient to his agenda, you know that. He probably thought it would be funnier if Coal fought Kuro-Kun." Kusano continued looking at the screen his eyes lost in something intangible.

"How many transgressions of the faith have I committed I wonder?" he asked himself, Miss Hai looked at him for a moment, her smile never leaving as she had built a suitable immunity to these kinds of questions coming from him. "Where are the others?" he asked, seemingly bringing himself back.

"Hangman is gone, most likely making some last minute preparations, I just received word from Kanryu and Harukai-Chan that they are en route to the Retrievers Shizuka is currently pursuing and Luther along with Hirutsuai have just been spotted somewhere in the Thirteenth Hall." Miss Hai said, her insult towards Harukai notwithstanding, Kusano listened and absorbed it all. As if in tune to his will, another monitor turned on and there were seen two figures running down a random hallway.

"Those two are…quite well known around the Shinjuku area are they not?" Kusano said, regarding the running figures of the brunette and blond retrievers.

"Yes, they call themselves "The Get Backers". One is the former Lightning Emperor of the Volts, the former Raitei Ginji Amano and the other is known as Ban Mido. Supposedly Mido somehow brought him out of the Volts somehow."

"He's not full blooded." Kusano muttered, looking at the screen.

"Hm?" Miss Hai responded with her smile in blood red lips.

"That one, Mido Ban, he's not a pure blooded Japanese man. Interesting."

"Well, Laughing Phantom isn't Japanese at all…"

"That he isn't indeed my dear Miss Hai." The sound of plodding could be heard, and rapid typing began again. "You know what needs to be done, so do it." Miss Hai did a mock bow.

"Oh yes pet master, I will do your adult heart any deed it desires." The sound of effeminate chuckling could be heard in sequence with the typing, as a book was analyzed and reanalyzed, pages being turned and turned back at rates per second, with a set of two windows on the monitor screen detailing a pair running, and a nearly imperceptible image through smoke and rubble.

0000000000

"Damn it…what the hell was that?" Ban asked, both to himself and to his best friend/fellow Get Backer Ginji. The two had been running at a sprint for a good twenty minutes and after apparently losing their fauna pursuers, found themselves panting to recover their energy in the middle of a black hallway that began to twist into curves any further from where they were.

"I dunno Ban-chan, I think they were animals right?" Ban sparked a cigarette, lacking even the yellowish light one of the previous rooms the glow from the lighter and in turn the cigarette was a slightly futile but welcome reprieve all the same.

"You idiot, of course they were animals, my question was why they were going after us like that." Finally being given some time to sort through the chase Ginji slumped against a wall, finding its cool exterior to be comforting he slid down until he was sitting. "Tch, knowing him that monkey trainer asshole was probably sent here on a job to get that book." Ginji looked up at his casually smoking partner with thoughtful eyes.

"It wasn't Shido Ban-chan." Ban was caught off a little bit.

"What the hell are you talking about Ginji? Despite all the weird shit we've seen I think I'd remember if there were **two** people in our lives who could control animals like that." Ban was noticeably frustrated and justifiably so. Hell, he wasn't even totally sure why he was here in the first place. It's not as if he was truly worried about Himiko? Maybe, possibly, but that scent, her tracking scent had sparked his curiosity…

"Trust me Ban, I know, and I have a feeling if you really thought about it you'd know too." Ginji said with a smile that was much more intelligent than first impressions of it. Ban hated to love that smile, that smile that spoke volumes of character and truly knowing a person to the point of actually sharing a mind.

"Yeah yeah, whoever the hell that was didn't smell as bad as the freakin monkey…or maybe they did and this place just kind of overpowered the stink."

"Yeah I know what you mean. This place has a bad smell, more like a really bad feeling actually." Ginji said, looking left and right towards the opposite ends of the hallway while simultaneously trying to forget some of the wet mass objects he and Ban had ran into before running here.

"It's the scent of blood Ginji, of death." Ban said, finishing Ginji's observation.

"Blood…and death?" Ginji said nearly in line with the click in his brain. "Akabane…this place, as long as I'm here I can't help but think of him." Ban nodded, silently impressed by Ginji's perception.

"Definitely, this place has an aura around that's too much like his to be a coincidence. And that fucking animal got Himiko involved?" Ginji slowly got up, about to say something to reassure Ban about Himikos' knack for survival.

"…Ban…it's that noise again." Ginji said. Ban's eyes bulged a bit beneath his sunglasses.

"It's that inverted beast whistle…Ginji, move!" they both dashed to one side, found their pursuers and as fast as they could move they were blocked again, suddenly from both ends of the hall the duo was surrounded. The animal beasts, each with their own abnormalities both physical and not, stopped at arms length from their prey.

"Hey Ban…why'd they stop?" Ginji asked, back to back with Ban. Ban was busy darting his eyes left and right.

"Dunno don't care, we have to break through!" Ban opened his right hand and lunged outward meanwhile Ginji was about to protest the attacking of the animals but too quickly found the logic behind Bans maneuver and followed suit.

"Well well, looks like we're in the presence of some real celebrities." Ban was stopped from his forward attack by a hailing line of lit matches. Skidding to a halt, he simultaneously cursed the wearing down of his semi-new loafers and this interruption. Seeing his opponent despite the relative darkness and his own violet shades, Ban squinted his trained eyes to find his opponent.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" at the same moment Ginji began to feel his electrical power literally seep off and away from him.

"H-huh?" he stuttered, looking to the direction of the fading light Ginji was more than a little surprised to find a man glowing almost quite festively with his electricity. What made Ginji gulp a bit was his appearance, a broken down hazardous material suit with rips and holes all over, showing his jet-black southward hair.

"Damn it, Ginji, these friends of yours?" Ban asked, tensing.

"No, not these guys, they're…Ban there's something about…"

"Holy shit, you guys are the 'Get Backers'? You look like a couple a skanks!" the one who threw the matches commented, his bandanna fluttering behind him as he walked. "Yo Kanryu, they qualify as she males or just girls?" match man asked, oblivious to Ginjis' semi-pout and Ban's throbbing vein.

"What the fuck you call us you flaming match dick!" the Jagan master bellowed, startling some of the animals from their apparent trance.

"B-b-ban-chan, do we really look like girls?" Ginji asked, border lining on tare transformation. This scene of Ban growling and Ginji sobbing to the abrasive laughter of the match man continued for a good thirty to thirty-two seconds.

"Shut up all of you." The one in the gas mask stated his voice almost humanly mechanical. The bickering group stopped, halted by his voice. A few awkward seconds went by until the sound of footsteps coming up behind Kanryu replaced the silence.

"Hey dirt blood, we all right to do whatever the hell we want?" the match wielder quipped to the new comer, a strictly tomboyish but still feminine woman.

"Shidos…sister?…wait, who are you?" Ginji, completely in the dark literally and figuratively, asked to this figure, she looked very familiar. She only smiled a bit as a response.

"Monkey girl eh?" Ban muttered. Kanryu looked to the woman.

"Shizuka, what are the orders?" Shizuka then placed her fingers betwixt her lips and blew, forcing all the waiting animals into kneeling and resting positions.

"The orders are…to do whatever the hell you damn well please, Kanryu and Harukai-chan." Shizuka said, walking back a bit amongst her animals and watching Harukai's reaction.

"Watch your fucking mouth woman. You're only alive by circumstance, nothing more. Soon as this is over I'm burning you alive with your fucking estrogen as fuel." Harukai said, stepping towards the pair of retrievers, now ringed by the resting animals.

"We do not have time to mess with you assholes; just get the hell out of our way-"Ban was cut off by a series of matches thrown inches from his nose. Only by virtue of his beyond human reflexes did he avoid a literal "flaming" haircut.

"Harukai Okita, I figure a man, even a womanish one like you deserves the name of his killer at the very least." Harukai stated with a somewhat contented smile on his face, his hand still outstretched and now, a second after the previous attack now filled again between the knuckles with lit matches. Ban looked slowly with a serious glare doing his best to size up his opponent. This process was naturally cut short when said opponent threw about twice the amount of matches as before, and followed up with a charge.

"We don't have to fight you kn-"Ginji attempted to reason.

"You're the Lightning Emperor, the Raitei?" Kanryu asked.

"I guess I am, I mean I was." Ginji replied, feeling a bit of apprehension from this line of questioning.

"You're absolutely nothing like him, at all." Kanryu stated, standing perfectly calm and still even as the fight between Ban and his friend Harukai escalated. Despite the whole situation, the danger, the chance of death lurking, Ginji couldn't help but smile.

"That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me." His smile turned to one of shock and of a grimace as he bent backwards suddenly. Kanryu landed on his feet behind Ginji, the knife from his right gauntlet extended. Ginji felt a few beads of sweat dance down his brow as he straightened his back and jumped in time to avoid another knife swipe. This time, Kanryu appeared with a knife jutting from his left gauntlet. Turning his head slightly, Ginji found Shizuka letting slip a slow whistle from, bringing her animals back to their feet and back to their attack positions.

"Kanryu Saito, my name to you Pseudo-Raitei."

0000000000

"Miss Hai? Miss Hai? Figures, when I actually need her she's not even here…" Kusano mumbled, continuing his simultaneous observation of the fights and his research into the book under the cameras. Typing away at speeds rivaling a certain computer boy genius, Kusano's eyes flitted to and fro across the screen, taking in all the data they need and discarding what was not. A pad of paper was being written on by a detached hand, also his doing, it was the blessing that gave him the ability to decipher and log things like no man can, and the curse to never truly be a whole man. After a few more moments of typing one of the keyboards in the back gave way with a pop and a crash. Yet another detached hand pushed it into a growing pile of dead keyboards and replaced it with a fresh one in the stable line of seven.

The book itself The Dominus Grim, had been read and reread. Looked at and looked over at this particular moment in time about three dozen times. And all this time notes, physical written notes had been taken.

"I wonder Lord, do you approve of this, of this action?" he asked to what some might consider no one, some might consider the only 'one' with meaning. He continued typing, the pages on the screen being logged and looked over, indexed and cross-referenced with whatever information the Internet could offer. Though mostly bunk some of the information from there could be useful.

"If you do not, why let me live? Why did you let me survive? To continue this, to keep going and keep analyzing this damn book that's captivated me so?" a pen broke. In a quick reaction before any ink forever blotted out the written words, he tossed the pen and replaced it with another. Thus the process could continue unhindered.

"Why not smite me yourself oh Lord, if your men lack the necessary perception and ability to do it themselves? And of Judas? What of Judas, Lord?"

0000000000

From without the Aku no Kami, where the air was relatively fresh and the sky was just beginning to darken, another vehicle appeared on the country road over the horizon. Joining the white ladybug currently in park, the all black sedan with a cross emblazoned on the hood stopped.

"Ah, my lovely Joanette. How does the vile air greet you?" one of the figures in the backseat said, standing up and surveying the building and the bloody presence it gave off. This odd juxtaposition of life from without the building and the death within did not go unnoticed. The man whipped his straight black ponytail, which flipped in the wind along with his single cross earring. Standing fully erect his long black coat was free to float and wave with the light breeze, revealing his black undershirt and single red cross.

To his question, another figure stepped out from the back seat. This one, the girl named Joanette, had long ebony hair tied into a long single braid; slowly almost meekly she stood by the man. To the man's nearly all black attire, her flesh tone dress seemed an odd contrast, save for the black necklace around her neck showing something akin to a lower case 't' or half of a cross. The girls pretty face and deep maroon eyes showed the very slightest wisp of frustration. Noticing this, the man in black grinned a bit and lowered his clear glasses.

"Don't worry my dear, our good and gracious Lord took away that which was most precious? You are here as part of his will, feel proud! You are about to do a great service and you will be rewarded. You will have what was taken away. The lamb shall return to the flock." A tapping on the windshield brought the man from his speech.

"Father Corsair, is this really a good idea? You know that your standing in the Vatican is tenuous at best and-" the driver began.

"A good idea? Nonsense and a pox on you for speaking such ill. A service for the Lord is **always** a 'good idea'." The driver nodded his head hurriedly.

"Yes sir, I understand that but-"

"But…nothing my good man. All those who disagree with my previous statement deserve nothing but the fires of wrath…right, my dear?" Father Corsair motioned to Joanette, who merely look slightly down with her eyes half lidded.

"What about…him, the one you're here for?" the driver asked, his heart rate reaching new heights. Corsair then took out a book from his chest, a book that many would associate as directly to his identity. Tapping the holy Christian bible twice with a smile, he made his way into the building, Joanette lightly nodding her head to the driver. The driver then sped off thanking his Lord that he had survived an encounter with 'that' man, the priest of the Vicious Cross.

"Hmm hmm into the den we go…" Corsair hummed/sung to himself, not caring that he and his woman companion were going deeper and deeper, their or rather his arrogance violating what an outsider should act like. The Formers attacked from the darkness, as they were prone to do, greeted only with a smile and a book.

0000000000

Within now a whole wing of the building, the heat was steadily rising. The closer one would get to a certain room, the more unstable the floors, walls, and ceiling would become. Until they of course reach the epicenter.

"Jackal!" Himiko cried out. Corking her erosion perfume, she quietly thanked Kami that she had had the reflexes to dissolve all the large parts of rubble jettisoned her way. Peering through the haze of smoke and steam, Lady Poison did her best to assess the situation as well as stay on her own two feet. The horrid abundance of heat was weighing heavily on her, the obvious fact that the only reason she hadn't burst into flame was due to Coals and by extension Laughing Phantom's will was not lost on her, and it disgusted her.

"Oh yes baby. This is the way fighting should be. It's so close now I can see it, I can actually see it!" Laughing Phantom yelled with freakish glee, suspended upside down on one of the few still existing ceilings, his chains acting as anchors. Stumbling a bit, Himiko kept her acceleration perfume at the ready while silently lamenting her abuse of it and the adverse affect it would have on her body.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Laughing Phantom, like some very disturbed puppet masters marionette, twirled on his chains and faced Himiko.

"Did you know at some of his hotter temperatures, Coals been clocked at something like 3500 degrees or something…sand to glass for your lesson today children." He mumbled. Himiko was meanwhile trying to figure if she could make the jump to his position, evidently even with the extension of her acceleration scent it would still be a gamble. This thought and reasoning was quickly cut off as the heat began to increase again, with a quick and surprised scream, Himiko found parts of her clothes beginning to combust into flames. Ducking out of the way of the Phantom's salivating glare and behind a discarded boulder sized concrete shard, Himiko brought out her antidote perfume, hoping against hope that her cure for flame perfume applied here.

"It's here, it's right here." Laughing Phantom said, suddenly landing very cat-like next to Himiko who to her relief found that her antidote perfume did indeed apply to externally caused fires.

"Wh-what are you talking about, what's 'right here'?" the Witch of the Seven Perfumes asked, getting back to her feet. Finding herself in doubt if she could fight a two front war against Phantom and her body's own rapid deterioration, Himiko considered her options with the very last option being an attack leading to a last blaze of glory.

Suddenly an ebony blur passed straight over them and collided in the opposite wall. After the first few seconds of shock, the debris and rubble separated and gave way to reveal their cause.

"Akabane?" Himiko asked, rather than yelled, surprised that the Jackal could even conceivably be hit or attacked like that. Or rather she was surprised to a point that he could be hit or attacked at all. Stumbling a bit into a run, she was cut off by Laughing Phantom appearing again in front of her, an almost manically gentle grin on his face.

"You're wondering aren't you? Why things are so different here, why Akabane is wavering from victim to victimizer…why even you can feel this building edging away at you?" Laughing Phantom said, seemingly unaffected by the still rising heat level.

"…" Himiko couldn't summon up a response, the conditions were quickly becoming unbearable and her body was being pushed to its brink.

"Haven't you ever wondered just where The Jackal actually learned those delightful little "Bloody" moves? Hmm? He learned a good deal if not all of them here, from two people besides teaching himself…" Himiko was beginning to waver, the weight on her was making her blurry eyed. Reaching as best she could for a vial, she still held enough of the mind of a professional to know the specific poison in her grasp.

"He's been wavering, being here, breathing this air, fighting these creatures. He's close, close to his ascension." Phantom went on, his eyes fully on the fight, disregarding Himiko. His grin began to take more manic qualities. "He's being brought back! This is it! Coal will be the catalyst that sets this all-"

"Why do you feel the need to talk so much?" Himiko in an arc motion of her arm cast one of her scents. Jumping straight up before the cloud of poison could settle Phantom reacted by sending a series of four chains straight at the girl. Her reactions now sluggish to non-existent, the witch girl was ensnared easily and painfully. Landing back on his feet the Horrible Clown shushed Himiko as one would a disobedient toddler.

"Just watch."

0000000000

Through the steam and smoke, among the burning hot cobblestone remains that had yet to be liquefied, Akabane lay against a wall, coughing ever so slightly. Standing up slowly with a repressed grimace, the Transporter adjusted his hat with his odd left arm and with his right at least attempt to dust off the cinder, ash and some blood from his person.

"You truly live up to your name…" Akabane said, his almost carefree smile reasserting itself on his slightly cut and burned face. Into the wrecked remains of the chamber ahead of him, Coal lightly touched down toes first. Seeing his opponent still alive, Coal stopped to consider his actions. A light tug on the chain connecting the back of his neck to a certain Clown quickly halted any deliberation. His heated aura flaring up again Coal began his approach towards the Jackal.

Though one more adept at killing and maneuvering to make said killing easier and more enjoyable, Akabane also had first rate powers of observation. Seeing his opponents face, he wondered.

"Are you even enjoying yourself in this? Does this little skirmish even register with you?" Coals face remained in the same impassive glare since the beginning. "I see, how sad that you cannot even enjoy the thrill of living, or in this case flirting with death I suppose." Coal's approach continued, his heat field increasing, leaving smoldering almost lava-like footprints in his wake.

"What do you want Coal-san? Is it death?" the approach continued, the heat increased. Jackal adjusted the brim of his hat to see Coal through its infamous slit.

"If it is death you want, step forward and I shall give you that release you desire." And then from the distance.

"His wants and needs are irrelevant Jacky-kun! He's a tooled slave now, either choose to ascend or die here like the dregs we tower over!" Laughing Phantom yelled out from over some stone wreakage. A rapid flick of the chain quickly sent Coal charging at Akabane. His heated presence now radiating like a shuttle upon atmospheric reentry.

"Choice…"

0000000000

_"Did you hear?"_

_"What?"_

_"Someone's burned all the Formers at gate six-sixty seven!" _

_"Burned?"  
"Yeah, literally burned!" the two men, two comrades within the Aku no Kami by necessity. Both were cast out of their former lives due to horrendous manslaughter and various other acts of 'mischief'. But now they were merely running back towards the entrance of the horrid building, wanting to see the cause of the sudden decrease in Formers._

_"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Hangman asked or rather almost insulted from his perch atop the entryway. His lanky form in odd balance with the gigantic scythe he refused to go anywhere without. To his question, a single figure stood in the middle of the early evening breeze, surrounded by the ashes of the creatures once human._

_"Heh, only here a couple months and already we get another fucking crasher." Harukai said, flipping some matches into his knuckles. Kanryu held his shoulder, holding him back from confronting the intruder just yet. Harukai looked into the gas mask that constituted his friends face, about to protest but then relented. Then, the warped animals gathered around the intruder, keeping their distance as best they could from this mans obvious abilities._

_"Oh good, genetic trash to fight external trash." Hangman darkly joked, accentuating his point by spitting when Shizuka entered. The mistress of freakish beasts brushed off the scythe wielder with a one-fingered salute and stood where she was._

_"What brings you here, friend?" Miss Hai stated with a silky voice that matched her entry from behind Shizuka. The figure in question that all eyes seemed to focus on, turned his head towards Miss Hai._

_"I was told…I was told to come here, to escape and forget I think is what he said…" the man with the red and white streaked black hair stated, his presence still radiating a physical heat and an intangible ferocity. Miss Hai smiled from beneath her ivory hat and from all listeners accounts seemed to sigh with nostalgia._

_"To follow the scent of blood? Well then, you're certainly welcome…if you're willing to…"_

_"I am, that should be obvious." He said, walking to face this woman in white. Said woman maintained her smile and stepped out of his way slowly, letting him walk into hell._

_"My my, quite the arrogant little prick isn't he?" Hirutsuai asked from the very top of the building having witnessed all the days' events. Luther looked out over the edge, his head propped up by his hands._

_"His name is Coal I think. I heard he was driven here by something…something tragic."_

_As Coal entered the Aku no Kami, with the various others following him and then splitting and diverting into the various hallways and rooms the structure had to provide, he was oblivious. Oblivious to the watching clown in the dark behind the entrance, tracing a chain on the wall behind him._

_Months would go by, as units of time tend to do._

_"What? She's still alive? You know! Where? Where is she!" Coal yelled, grabbing Laughing Phantom by the shoulders and shaking him with a tad of violence._

_"Hmm? You're asking me for help? Well I don't know. My assistance and love don't come cheap…but then you've said some mean things about me haven't you?" _

_A few more hours went by._

_"Now there, doesn't that feel better pet." Laughing Phantom said to his latest 'acquisition', now on four legs and with a face devoid of human life._

"Choice…" 

0000000000

"I beat him pretty easily, that I did." Laughing Phantom said, though Himiko was sure, was it possible there was a hint of doubt in his voice?

0000000000

The heat was growing, liquefaction was now a standard, and at the rate the numbers were going vaporization would have to be the next step. The immediate vicinity around Coal was just that, a vaporous hellish atmosphere that only he could navigate.

"Dr. Jackal, move! I know you have your pleasures but this is insane!" Himiko yelled, her voice quickly muffled by a chain wrapping itself around her mouth.

"Pleasures…?" Akabane muttered questioningly. Coal was coming even closer; Akabane had now bowed his head.

"Is he resigned I wonder?" Laughing Phantom asked whilst stroking his chin, ignorant to Himiko twisting and wriggling her relatively small body out the hold of the chains.

Then, something inaudible pierced the air and overwhelmed the witnessing pair.

"His aura…his presence…" Himiko said, finally reaching her vial of erosion scent.

"Yes…he's here…right-" Coal was now less than an arms length away from the most hated man in the transportation business. The Jackal then raised his head, his eyes passed completely into the hues of blood red.

An ebony blur passed almost into Coal, and then up and over. Akabane now stood behind his opponent, the tail of his long coat only now fluttering to catch up with him. Coal screeched to a halt and turned around.

"Bloody Rain." A storm of scalpels rained down on Coal who promptly dissolved them, or would have if his aura hadn't of for lack of a better term 'crapped out' on him. Being hit with the full force of the knives, the reason for the disruption was quickly revealed, a deep footprint had appeared in his chest, caving it in quite a ways. Coughing up some blood, Coal stumbled a bit, and coughed up some more fluid but his expression, despite all the pain he should feel, all the agony he should be feeling, his expression remained decidedly neutral. The only difference was the blood dripping almost elegantly down his chin.

"…He is…something different entirely…" Himiko said in absolute awe and more than a little fear. Laughing Phantom looked on, ignoring the girl behind him.

"You're still so sycophantic, the real Jackal would have dissolved my fucking pet by now, he-screw it, I never need to justify myself." Taking a breath he jingled the chain to get Coal to attack again. Phantom found the need to continue this little exposition quite unnecessary.

"What is going on?" He asked. To this, Coal had raised his right arm to attack only to find a small flutter of something fall of his arm. Then another, and another and another, soon, the length of his arm from his hand to midway towards his elbow was neatly skin stripped.

Jackal stroked the brim of his hat, lifting it, he looked at his now captive audience with a look that some might simply take as a smile, but in grim reality was so much more.

"Bloody Ribbons." The stripped area of Coal's arm burst, or actually exploded violently. Laughing Phantom, for a moment dropped the chain from his fingertips.

"Wha-?" all it takes is one instant of vulnerability. The Jackal was no less than an atoms distance from the Horrible Clown in the time it takes a physicist to compute one plus one. In a storm of a three scalpels, the connecting chain was cut.

"Vulnerability, Phantom…a grievous sin." Acting even before the chains could snap, he Jackal shredded the metallic bonds to individual links. Not even a moment passed when the Jackal cut Phantom some deep gashes all over his body. Then, five scalpels managed to find their way into the horrible creatures beautiful and hideous visage.

"Oh…my…Go-" Himiko managed to mutter out, seeing Laughing Phantoms body keel over and collapse, his flat top derby hat rolling on its side until finally settling near the mans foot.

Naturally after this terrible display of one man taking the life of another in the most bloody and gruesome way possible, the next few moments were a bit awkward. Before Himiko could speak, she noticed the look on Akabanes' face, it was not sad or anything remotely close. Actually, the look was more like one of surprise followed by a monsters understanding of his own tendencies. Akabane closed his now violet eyes and breathed deep.

"…Uh…huh...ah…" some incoherent mumblings brought the pair of transporters back to their current situation. First Himiko, then Akabane turned to find the source of the noise, which had quickly escalated into albeit loud but somewhat human yelling.

"Dr. Jackal, Coal is-" Himiko began.

"He is free now Miss Himiko. I gave him a choice…" Himiko and he looked at the bloody stub his right arm was.

"And we both agreed the price was worth the result."

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: This chapter took me roughly two weeks to write from start to finish. I had to use a combination of my own computer at home and my schools computers (like the one I'm using to type this, I guess maybe I should actually be trying to TA) courtesy of a floppy disk. I felt it was worth it. I've actually trumped myself in terms of length, just a few weeks ago I had written my longest single paper in one of my other stories, this was almost double that, jeez. Some of you might be wondering about the extended length, well the answer is this. I felt that my updates were getting too distant from one another, and when I did actually update with only two or three thousand words, it seemed like you guys weren't getting the bang you deserved. Also, I felt that the story was moving too slowly, and at the rate I was going with everything planned out in my head, the story would hit something like eighty chapters. Not that I'm trying to rush, I just think you guys deserve more, or something.

So, I have to ask, which do you guys prefer? More but shorter updates? Or longer spaces between updates but more to them? Now for the (insert long awaited) review response.

Kore Yan: Hey, thank you for reviewing the story! And to you query…well…things don't look too advantageous for our clown friend now do they? Glad you enjoyed chapter seven, and I hope you like this one too.

Atropos' Knife: Thanks for the feedback, yeah yeah I know ol'LP isn't the most conventional guy to pal around with but give him time and…(looks at chapter again)…apparently never mind. For the Ginji spelling, I see that now, I guess the pressures getting to me, huh? Heh. In terms of the grossness you were talking about, don't worry, if this chapter didn't sate your thirst for it (something wrong with all of us I swear) then the next few chapters definitely will. I look forward to any and all feedback from you, and I hope you enjoyed the writing.

Rabid Lola: Thank you once again for taking the time to review this story, it's cool to have something resembling devoted fans! As for the ecci thing, well if it means what I think it means than I guess I'll have to agree. If you thought that LP and his power were gross, then I guess I'll just say thank you. I was thinking for a while just what power to give him, though the image of him with someone else in a chain was the first image I ever had of him. Yeah, the Get Backers are in trouble again, business as usual and the Jackal is quite badass as you can see. The character bombs are loaded and ready, awaiting command, or something like that. I hope you enjoy your summer break (months away for me…joy) and about the whole –chan thing, I put in a few more now but bare in mind I only read and watch the American Get Backers manga and anime respectively. So my knowledge of Japanese honorifics is basic at best. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Well, it came and went didn't it? Hope you enjoyed reading it; I should have for all the school time I wasted (not really, you get the idea). I will definitely see you all when I see you, next time.


	9. The Deep Air Surrounds

Disclaimer: If I owned anything, it would be a car. Though if I did own the concept, money can buy cars right?

Authors Notes: Here we are again, I figured; why not keep the story moving in to the summer? I have a ways to go so I hope you stick with me in this lull of (relatively) dormant school and work yin-yang. In addition, a new vice has returned to me, a return to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas…truly modern art. I finally Star Wars as well, two words: wait, four words: "pretty good" and "more wookie". Anyway, on to what you came here for, the next act.

Dominus Grim  
Chapter Nine: The Deep Air Surrounds

'Smoldering' as a word can both be applied to people and objects in both the literal and figurative forms. In this situation, only the literal applied. The room and chamber that the Transportation duo now occupied was almost entirely turned to liquefied stone, some of it well into the vaporization stage. Smoke and ash completely covered some of what was once the gigantic space of air, with its source rasping with eyes closed and body heaving some.

"Is he, is he still alive?" Himiko asked Akabane, referring to the collapsed man at their feet. Akabane lifted his hat, looking down, who better to know if one lives or dies?

"Yes." Akabane stated rather curtly, not too much like his usual self. Realizing this himself, Akabane finished "…my dear Miss Himiko." Himiko looked to the Jackal but found no need to ask questions if only because any answer at all would do nothing to help their situation.

Coal, who up until that point had been screaming his lungs out, had finally collapsed from the exhaustion his body was denied to feel. Panting heavily, Coal brought his legs up into an almost fetal position, but then scraped his toes across the floor and brought himself back to his knees. The pain itself now back in full force, Coal fell over again, on top of the nub of what was once his right arm.

"Wait, you shouldn't be moving!" Himiko said, running over to help Coal, up. Hesitating a moment for fear of the heated aura that was present not two seconds ago, Himiko slowly touched and then grabbed Coals shoulders, finding her hands still there.

"Dr. Jackal we have to do something!" Himiko yelled at the amount of blood coming from Coals bloodied right stump. Akabane sauntered over with a smirk.

_"Funny, I'm called 'Doctor' when a mans life is in danger."_ Looking down at Coal, Akabane crouched and found his former assailants face contorted in agony.

"What are we supposed to do? He's losing too much blood! Aka-"Himikos' somewhat hysterical ranting was cut.

"First use your sleep perfume to calm him down, more preferably to knock him unconscious." Akabane looked at the surprised Himiko who seemed to forget her ability to blink and speak concurrently. "Did I speak too fast?" Akabane couldn't help but smile, not entirely at the situation but rather at Himiko who reminded him of a nurse the Doctor of him worked with once.

"N-no, not at all." Soon upon inhalation of the scent, Coal was brought into a sleep. Not a sleep of peace, but a sleep of some relief at the very least. Reaching into the depths of his coat, Akabane brought out something resembling thread and needle. Bringing a scalpel to bare, Akabane began to deftly work on the various cuts and gashes around Coals body as well as cleaning and sewing up the remains of his right arm, shifting and instructing Himiko to move his body as the need required.

After about twenty or so minutes, the single scalpel retreated back into Akabanes hand. Lifting his own cut, burned but still more or less whole, and suffice to say limp left arm, Jackal retracted his left sleeve, he then brought out three scalpels in his right and proceeded to work on it, his neutral face holding back the pain of a surgery minus the anesthesia. Upon finishing with the makeshift bandages he applied and covering his arm, Akabane was a bit surprised to find Himiko wiping her mouth of that morning's breakfast.

"I suppose I should have told you to turn around?" He asked as Himiko smirked grimly.

"Ya think? Heh, I guess I just forgot that that 'Doctor' part of your name isn't just for show." sitting down for a rest, she then looked around at the smoking ruin of the room, as well as at the corpse that was once a homicidal clown. "In all seriousness though, it's not just your little impromptu surgery, it's…everything here I guess. Ever since we got here I've felt like I've been under one long continuous assault on my senses. It's a bit overwhelming."

"Yes, that sounds about right." Akabane said, tentatively moving his arm, flinching only a bit from the soreness.

"You heal fast." Himiko observed.

"Only in here my dear." Akabane responded with a smile to his rhyme. Looking over Himiko, Akabane decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Are you feeling alright Miss Himiko? Any wounds or gashes or whatnot?" Himikos' eyes widened.

"Uh, no thank you. I mean I received a few bruises from that bastard Phantom, and you know what the acceleration scent does to me, but I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes to catch my breath." Adjusting the brim of his hat to view the Laughing Phantoms corpse, Akabane casually responded to Himiko

"As you wish." Walking over to the corpse and looking down, Akabane stared at it for a good while. Observing the twisted and contorted look plastered on the Laughing Phantom face, which had become a makeshift display for the scalpels implanted in it.

"He is dead, right?" Himiko asked, keeping a slight distance, her hands in the ready near her vials. Akabane let some air escape his lip.

"With him…one can never be certain." Himiko heard the small amount of, not hesitation, almost just an odd uncharacteristic pause in the Jackals speech. Realizing her own fatigue from the fight and the near impossible level of heat of the room that had yet to completely pass, Himiko sat down next to where Coals resting form was.

"What is it about this place? Even in Mugenjou, the worst weren't like this." Himiko stated more to herself than anyone else. Brief memories flashed before her eyes of the experiences of her life up until then, she then wondered, if things were different…

"I must admit, returning here is quickly putting me in a state I'd rather not be in." the Jackal said, lamenting the less than copious amounts of blood cascading from Phantoms cranium.

"Really? Jackal, I would assume you would love this place more than any other, I mean, you know, death is in pretty ready supply here." Akabane looked over at Himiko and smiled almost knowingly.

"That it is, but this is a place where control and things like professionalism are scattered to the wind. I don't like not being in control Miss Himiko, not at all." Himiko looked to Akabane, trying to extract any additional meaning from the statement.

"So, you learned those 'bloody' moves…here?"

"More like, perfected them." Cutting off the conversation was an odd noise, something that should be inappropriate and a cause for worries of death; it was the sound of sobbing.

"Who…is that Coal?" Himiko asked, looking now downward at Coals still unconscious body. His face, though the expression still somewhat lifeless, had twin trails of tears and some actions akin to sobbing, if only vaguely.

"I can only imagine, the horrors this man has seen and the disgusting atrocities that he committed under Phantoms control." Akabane said, an eye wandering to his left.

"So it's perfectly understandable…what should we do with him?" Himiko asked in mid motion to extending her hand to Coal, as some sort of more or less meaningless yet ingrained gesture of comfort.

"Well Miss Himiko, our job is to find the Dominus Grim and transport it to our client in Kyoto, correct?" Seeing her nod in the affirmative he continued; "Logically it would only slow us down having to carry a body with us…" waiting for the emotional outburst he expected, Jackal was pleasantly surprised to find Himiko waiting patiently for the rest. "However, leaving Coal-san here would be even more detrimental to us than if we took him."

"How so?" Himiko asked.

"Simply put: the creatures that we fought with earlier, those former men and women: "The Formers" as they are so affectionately referred to by some, would track and…inconvenience us."

"Then that would mean that, they're waiting for us." Himiko said, the realization occurring. The Formers were indeed there, watching and waiting just behind the walls and ceilings. "If we leave Coal, he'll be devoured, then they'll come after us, spurred on by the first meal or something?" Akabane smiled in that way he did.

"Something like that. Come, let us finish this job, I'll help you." Akabane and Himiko then took Coal, an arm over each of them and began their trek out of the utterly destroyed chamber, leaving behind a dead clown whose face was twisted in a horrid expression.

0000000000

"Shit, that all you got you flaming douche?" Ban remarked snidely, dodging yet another barrage of lit matches. His opponent, though a tad frustrated at his opponent's knack for being as fast as light, was still smiling into something like a snarl.

"I heard you're some kind of fighting genius, what the hell kind of genius does it take to call me 'flaming' from…**lit matches**?" Harukai yelled for emphasis. Ban raised an eyebrow, either that or a vein propped his eyebrow up.

"Tch, like you're worth true wit, hell you're not even worth the fucking Jokers wit." Ban mumbled, dashing back and forth, rebounding off the walls to avoid the matches and finally landing behind Harukai. "Nice mocking ya!" Ban yelled, shooting his right palm open, the deadly grip of the serpent lusting towards an easy victim.

"You intolerable ass." Harukai muttered in a smile in tune with the out of nowhere explosion of matches from his back. So many matches were fired, that for a brief moment that small space of chamber had semi-adequate lighting.

"Fuck!" Ban cursed, drawing his hand back and braking on his loafers again. Pushing every last bit of pride and strength into his legs, Ban launched himself with a speed that according to him (and begrudgedely a few others) rivaled even a certain Doctor. Unfortunately, pride and strength were proven insufficient, as Bans' shirt was now on fire in certain places.

"Something like a billion individual matches, never actually bothered to count them before. You are really some kind of disappointment." Harukai said, watching with a contemptuous voyeur's interest Ban hastily remove his white over-shirt and stamp out the flames.

"And you're really some kind of ass, a blind one too. You been down here too long mole boy." Ban said, looking over at his opponent with slightly more caution but all the same arrogance. Harukai waited for some kind of elaboration, but found none, at least not in the verbal sense. To answer his non-spoken query he suddenly felt some incredible pressure around various points of his body. Gasping a bit, he found or rather felt the blood begin to flow under his clothes.

_"When did he…"_ Harukai thought, stumbling almost invisibly in his step. Seeing Ban smirk was all he needed. "I see, so you're fast. Good. I suppose you have to be fast to be a joke." Harukai said, dashing at Ban and smirking at his opponents fade into invisibility. Lacking his opponent's speed, Harukai had a sort of counterbalance, an innate ability to duck, pitch, and roll with great preciseness. Using this well-earned trait Harukai was able to match Ban in his next position in the cramped hall they were fighting in, even to his advantage; Harukai appeared before the surprised retrieval agent with a fist cocked.

"Lucky sonofabitch-"Ban managed to get out before getting silenced with quite the right cross. Skidding on his foot, Harukai brought his still suspended leg towards Ban, only to have him fade away again. Feeling the horrid pressure on his back this time, Harukai jerked out forward, part of his shirt along with some skin taken off as souvenir for an incomplete snakebite. Reaching between the loops of his belt Harukai lashed out at Ban with an oddly new looking Bowie knife.

"What happened to matches and fire, too hard my flaming brother?" Ban asked, the sarcasm dripping and hissing like froth.

"Still my theme faux man-chan." Harukai said, the edge of the knife glowing only slightly. Ban clenched his fists. Then, where Harukai had grazed the air with his knife, an almost whiplash of flame erupted, and by virtue of almost superhuman level speed alone, Ban dodged.

"What the hell!" he yelled. Harukai began laughing again, low deep, abrasive laughs that sounded like they were scraping the cobblestones of the Aku no Kami in their echo.

"Who needs anything, when you have fire?" Haruaki asked himself, bounding towards the man with the Evil Eye, his right hand with a bowie knife, his left with four matches.

0000000000

"Whoa, damn it! Can't we stop this?" Ginji asked or actually pleaded between dodging blade swipes. Though no stranger to fighting, especially fighting someone with blades, even the former Lightning Lord of the Infinity Fortress was having some trouble keeping his head on his shoulders. "Come…on…we…don't…have to…do this!" Ginji finally decided to strike back, though his fist was blocked by the blunt of Kanryu's gauntlet blade.

"You struck back." Kanryu stated, his already deeply monotone voice becoming metallic and detached through the breather of his gas mask.

"Only to defend, I knew you'd block." Ginji and Kanryu stood in that pose a few moments, waiting to see who would act first. "Why are you and your friends doing this?"

"You ask stupid questions, Raitei. You were the ones who intruded here." Ginji felt an invisible weight fall on his blond head.

"Well…uh…damn I guess you have a point?" Ginji was a bit confused, and without his partner to deduce, reason and explain everything to him, he was a tiny bit lost. His confused eyes quickly snapped to attention when Kanryu brought his other blade in a whirling arc. Jumping back, Ginji felt no less than half a dozen cuts of ever increasing depth on his chest, through his jacket, his shirt and finally stopping into his skin.

_"He's fast, as fast as Ban? No way, hope you didn't hear that Ban-chan."_ Ginji thought with a smile, stepping back he charged forward, punching Kanryu again and again having his punch blocked.

"Aren't you going to ask? Why we're here?" Ginji asked, he and Kanryu in the same pose they were seconds ago.

"No, frankly I don't care, my only real question is why you're talking so much, adds to your predictability I suppose." In a repeat movement of his action in the last standoff, Kanryu attacked Ginji with a whirling arc, only to be stopped by about one hundred and fifty thousand volts. Jumping back, and despite his usual evasive manners towards fighting, Ginji swiped his cheek with his thumb.

"Heh? Ya like that?" Ginji was answered by the total and complete disappearance of his electrical discharge. "What…" in front of him, all one hundred and fifty thousand volts had been dancing around, then on and then finally into Kanryus' body. A quickly dissipating glow was the only reminder that there was ever any power to begin with. "It's…you isn't it?" Kanryu looked at his opponent, his own yellowish glow now completely dissipating returning the hallway to darkness.

"At least you have the perception of Raitei the legend, I already told you my full name. So here's my epithet." Kanryu said, disappearing than reappearing above Ginji, bringing both blades down to bear on him. In reflex, Ginjis' electrical field erupted. Though usually an electrical force such as that would throw an opponent back, today fate decided to toy yet again with its favorite hard luck child. Sucking in and sucking down all the electrical forks of lightning into his person, Kanryu was slowed down only a tick as he completed his doubled bladed arc, to which Ginji could dodge, with only the first few layers of skin on his left leg as a trade.

"Kanryu no Kazaana. That is who I am." Ginji grimaced, his leg was throbbing and he could only imagine the amount of blood threatening to spill if only a little more pressure be applied.

"Kanryu…of the Black Hole?" it was starting to click, and though Ginji was not one to understand physics or any of its immutable laws such as how matter or energy cannot be destroyed or created over time but merely change shape or be taken somewhere else, he was starting to realize the true magnitude of the challenge ahead of him.

"Yes, Raitei, you're the legend, please don't disappoint me." Kanryu rushed and Ginji doubled back, the pain in his leg already hindering him a great deal. Imminent death in front of him, a death less immediate but still painful behind him, Ginji did his best to dodge the flurry of attacks from the dual blades. Finding his inhibited speed leading to more and more wounds which in turn led to even more castrating of his movements, Ginji in felt his heel hit the wall. Forcing his weight behind him and bounding towards Kanryu, Ginji went on the offensive, punching and kicking to the best of his ability. Breaking Kanryus' defense, Ginji landed several crosses and hooks to his masked adversary.

"Please listen to me, we're not here to fight, we only came here because we thought a friend of ours was in danger." Kanryu adjusted his head and waited for the gravity of the situation to hit Ginji.

"Wait…my hand…what the hell!" Ginji yelled as he finally realized that his right hand was stuck **in** Kanryus cheek, or whatever the gas mask was covering.

"If there's anything I can't stand it's a disappointment, I suppose I'm just immature that way. Regardless, when I said Black hole, the term applies to all matter, energy," Kanryu emphasized this by shooting off some of Ginjis' electricity in the opposite direction. "And solid matter, like your hand for instance." Kanryu emphasized this by slowly drawing in Ginjis' hand into his face. Ginji jerked and squirmed, suddenly quite concerned with the fact that he couldn't feel his own hand any more, like his arm suddenly just ended where Kanryus' mask began.

"Uh…ah…damn…it…" Ginji muttered, trying of all things to pull his arm out. Realizing the futility of shocking Kanryu with an electrical burst, Ginji was quickly feeling cornered. Seeing his opponents face quite closely now, Kanryu steadied himself.

"You're not much, but I guess you can live with one arm." Kanryu muttered bringing his right arm up, gauntlet blade and all. Seeing the slight glint the blade created as a result of the nigh non-existent light in the hallway, Ginjis mind, much like Ginjis body and personality, sparked.

_"Worth a shot, just please don't be ceramic!"_ Ginji then focused the remainder of his electrical power on the rapidly descending blade.

"Now you're just being---what?" Kanryu yelled as his blade was stopped bare millimeters from Ginjis arm. Not giving his opponent the nanosecond time he needed to assess the situation Ginji mentally pushed, pulled, and contorted his electrical force to do all the same to Kanryu's blade. Startled, Kanryu attempted to step back. Just as he did, Ginji could feel his arm again, even within Kanryu. Deciding another risk was worth it, he drew his arm back out into the real world whole and all. "Damn it, now you show some damn brain!" Kanryu bellowed, ripping out his right gauntlet blade which at that point had become little more than a warped mess, or possibly modern art but that would have to wait. Tossing the now useless blade into the air, Kanryu grabbed it and shoved it in his chest, which in a situation very similar to Ginji's hand was merely absorbed.

"Oh, I get it, that black hole power thing of yours only works when you're standing still doesn't it?" Ginji guessed, astounding his opponent and to a possible greater degree himself with that observation.

_"There's a depth to him I didn't see before, those eyes…and that other one, Mido. Harukai…don't over do it."_

"Hey, so now that I now how to beat you, why don't we stop all this pointless fighting and just figure out why…" from beneath his mask, Kanryu smiled a little.

"Sorry, my friend and I have no time for nonsense like that, we fight and then-"

"Then what?" Ginji asked.

"Then, no more questions."

0000000000

A skidding noise, a quick shuffle and Ban had narrowly dodged a fiery barrier of matches.

"Tch, damn coward. Why the hell can't you fight me like a semi-human as opposed to all this barrier throwing strike from the dark crapola?" Ban asked the darkness, illuminated into a haunting yellow from all the fires. His eyes quickly narrowing, Ban crouched and jumped out of the way just as a fiery snake clamped its sunset colored mouth in the air. "What the hell! A snake? Real clever asshole." Ban said.

"Heh, just playing to my strengths. You're loud, girly looking, and have an ego as big as you wish your crotch were. You rush in, fighting, yelling and trying to prove how friggin great you are." Harukai came out of the darkness, a joint between his lips. "I pick and choose my moments for the kill, giving the instructions I need to…" Ban had appeared behind him. "Like a conductor…" Ban felt an intense heat from behind him; turning his head he found an entire fire dragon soaring towards him. With a grunt, Ban rolled out of the way and watched with anticipation as the dragon of flame flew right into Harukai.

"Man, ironic doesn't even do it justice. Just sad I suppose." Ban took out a cigarette and fumbled in his pockets for his lighter, forgetting for a moment any emotional connection he had to it out of sheer laziness and need for nicotine, Ban lit his cigarette in one of the hall ways' many fires. Except, when he looked for a fire, he found all the flames were quickly wafting and drifting towards the dragons landing point. "Heh, this place suits the Jackal. Unpredictable bastards, and a psychotic environment…jeez I don't even have HEVN to blame for this one." Ban considered attacking the column of flame ahead of him but doubted even with his speed he'd be able to escape unscathed.

"Akabane is a different species from you…" Harukai said as all the flames of the room now reabsorbed into his hands leaving the room dark and quickly cooling.

"Don't I know it…" Ban said with some pride. _"Not so different."_ Ban casually let out some smoke.

"Let me finish faux man, Akabane is a different species from you…and me. He has the same kind of blood that runs through these walls." Ban felt his breath catch.

"What…did you say…blood in the-"Harukai grinned as he saw his moment, sending out a bakers dozen of matches. Muttering a curse, Ban dodged again and brought his Snakebite to bear against Harukai. Using his Bowie knife and his own considerable agility, Harukai was able to parry and block a good number of the attacks. However, the Jagan Mans' speed, even slightly inhibited from his battle, was in the end too much for the matchstick user. His blocks and defense overrun, Harukai was punched a couple times across the face and kicked against the wall. "And now the Bowie!" Ban yelled grabbing the hunter's knife just above the hilt in his two hundred kilogram grip.

"Disproving the fighting genius, it's great fun." Harukai stated, some blood trailing from his lips. Ban wondered about this and also why just as he began to squeeze the knife did he feel an intense burn.

"Shit, you ignited the blade?" before he could retaliate, Harukai forced all the heat from the blade into an explosion towards Ban. Being forced back and left with next to no options Ban thrust his cursed arm into the fire with the force of a snake deity. Through a miracle that some might see as supernatural, the fire was forced back.

"Ya gonna follow? Or you going to test your grip like a bride?" Harukai quipped as the wall behind him almost instantly turned to sand. Hands made out of glass and dirt than grabbed the match man and pulled him through, still smirking of course.

"You fuc-" before Ban could finish his poem, a hole appeared under him, and perhaps if he was in the best state of mind or if he hadn't been ducking and dodging fire and flames before that, he might have jumped the hole. But as it was, the trap hole that appeared like an eye opening perfectly surprised him, and perfectly enraged him.

0000000000

Ginji had never heard the song "Once bitten twice shy" but he had heard of it, and for some reason this has only now occurred to him. Probably because Kanryu was moving so fast, shifting between being seen and unseen that Ginji couldn't focus his magnetism on him like the previous clash that he was thinking of this odd relic of eighties American music.

"Kanryu-san…please…" Ginji said, straining his eyes as best he could to decipher the movement patterns of his opponent only to find the pain from his leg wound, and the additional pain from all the latest cuts and slashes Kanryu was giving him, retarding his movements to the point of hopelessness. Knowing the futility of shooting off an electric burst, Ginji did the next best thing, focused his electrical charge and pulled himself towards and onto a wall. Finding himself stuck, Ginji grinned stupidly yet innocently.

"Darn, guess I didn't think that one through." Coming out of his unseen movements, Kanryu looked at his now wall bound opponent.

"You cannot be serious…how did you rule Lower Town?" Ginji tried his best to shrug but found his shoulders stuck like the rest of his body to the wall. Kanryu then reached into his chest and took out a now newly reshaped and re-sharpened blade, affixing it to his right gauntlet he began to advance on Ginji, this time slowly. To the shocked look Ginji was giving him, Kanryu oddly enough felt the need for explanation despite intending to end Ginji's life.

"The kazaana within me has both the properties of a black and white hole…essentially anything that goes in has the potential to come out, if I will it." Ginji looked on.

"How can you possibly control that kind of force?" the former leader of the Volts asked, continuing his advance, Kanryu answered.

"Trial and…error I suppose." Ginji noted the pause in his voice.

"It must've been tough." The blond said, his eyes fixed onto some faraway place.

"On the others, not me." Kanryu finished, disappearing again, reappearing again in mid swing above Ginji. Ginji looked up at Kanryu with a somewhat serene smile on his face.

"Even if I can't see your face, I can tell by your voice and your actions…it hasn't been easy…for that I'm sorry." To Kanryus' great surprise the wall Ginji was statically attached too fell apart much like a tower puzzle with a sadistic child taking out some of the structurally important parts. Landing within the dusty cloud of debris, Kanryu looked around, sensing for any aura fluctuations. Then, again much to his surprise and now to his chagrin, the cloud parted to reveal a cluster of electrical energy.

"Oh spare me Raitei; haven't we danced this waltz before?" Kanryu asked, disregarding the rapidly increasing aura of his opponent. Ginji looked at him, a similar smile from before still playing on his lips.

"I said I was sorry Kanryu-san, and I meant it. That apology includes this too!" Ginji yelled flaring his electrical field and sending the metallic wall minerals he had extracted jetting towards Kanryu. So shocked was Kanryu that he instinctively drew his foot back before a half dozen metallic bits drove into it, his movement triggered he was now easy prey for the rest of the metallic junks. Normally being hit with tiny remains of anything should cause nothing more than superficial damage, but if said material was now a finely honed metal shard, then the damage caused will more than definitely surpass the superficial. This fact was made abundantly clear to Kanryu whose already ripped clothes were now being serrated to bits; obviously some skin was removed along with the cloth. Regaining his bearings, Kanryu started darting between the miniscule metal bolts, but found that despite his speed his pathway to the source, Ginji, was repeatedly being blocked.

"Damn, you choose to now to be creative." The black-hole man mumbled to himself, knowing that his best option to clear the room was to unleash his kazaana but to do that would mean standing perfectly still which of course in this situation was an unacceptable choice of actions. Continuing to dart back and forth, to and fro, Kanryu knew he had to do something before his speed began to wane.

"Kanryu-san…" Ginji began from behind his electrical field, which was behind the metallic cloud.

"Raitei, you are-" Kanryu was about to counter, about to make his move but soon found himself narrowly dodging a small crimson object, which hit the floor with the force of a sedan through wet tissue paper.

"H-huh? Who are you guys?" Ginji asked, his aura faltering slightly due to his confusion. The sight itself was indeed confusing, one man, rather a boy barely hitting puberty and a much taller man covered completely in a black shawl save his face.

"For someone who was disappointed by the great Lightning Lord you seem to be having quite the trouble with him." Hirutsuai said, not even bothering to hide his coldly smiling lips behind his characteristic black cloth. Kanryu looked to Hirutsuai and his ward, and then back to the confusedly blinking Ginji.

"…You too Luther-san?" Kanryu asked, Luther nodded in the affirmative, further confusing Ginji who was still wondering about this little boy with the ice cold glare set into his face. Then, as if the day wasn't so pleasantly normal enough, Kanryu turned on his heel towards Ginji, bowed and began to walk off back into the wall from whence he came.

"Raitei, or former Raitei, I sincerely hope next time you abandon the glass in front of your eyes." Ginji finally broke out of his confusion, and stepped towards the retreating Kanryu, his aura lessening slightly.

"Kanryu-san wait-" but before he could finish, a gold pocket watch lashed out like the tongue of a serpent nearly lobbing off the arm Ginji was extending. Only by honed instincts did Ginji manage to pull back, but not without some bloody chain cuts on his wrist adorned with some odd gold shavings.

"Don't worry Ginji Amano, unlike Okita-san, we're not under the mistaken impression that you're still the Raitei." Hirutsuai said, flipping his watch up and down like a rich mans yo-yo. Though only slight Ginji could notice the stoic mans icy blue eyes drifting towards Luther than to him.

"Uh, that's good I guess…" Ginji began, not liking the trickling chill he was getting as a result from the mans aura. His aura still flaring, Ginji was fairly confident in his chances, even if the other aura he was sensing was immense, but then, the other one, the child got up. "You're not going to fight me too are you? I really don't want to hit a little kid!" Ginji said, feeling almost like going tare, but holding back for fear of what his opponent's reaction might be. The "kid" in question responded by brushing some of the almost violet bangs from his face and focusing his dark purple irises on Ginji.

"I wonder Amano-san, how strong is that 'innocence' you protect yourself with?" Luther said, his voice betraying more than his bodily appearance ever could. Ginji flinched a bit, not quite knowing how to approach the boy from here.

"I don't understand, we just want our friend back…for her to be safe, why are you all attacking us?" Ginji brought the electrical field around him up again, along with the metallic bits still magnetized.

"It's simple Amano-san, we're all bloody vicious animals who don't know any better than to attack and rip apart all who cross into our territory." The former Lightning Emperor kept darting his eyes back and forth from Luther to Hirutsuai and back again, wondering which would attack first, or in the worst possible situation if both attacked first, then the gravity of the statement hit him.

"That's not true, you don't have to do any of tha-"

"Of course we do, and since you've been cast down here with us, the curse of inhibitions has been lifted." Luther said, his eyes beginning to glow and the air in the hallway started to pick up into little dust devils around him. Almost in response the hall began to shift and change. The walls narrowed and contorted in all sorts of structurally impossible directions and angles, as did the ever widening and twisting ceilings. If this was too passable, hands began appearing from between every cobblestone on the floor and from each crack in the wall and ceiling. The hands grabbed and groped the air, as voices or rather sounds from behind mouthed something either in another language or merely something completely incomprehensible.

Despite everything he had seen and done as the Lightning Emperor of the Infinity Fortress, all the horrible experiences he had both dealt out and experienced, Ginji Amano began to sweat and couldn't help but gulp back some growing fear.

0000000000

Though not that far behind him where the walls, ceilings and general physical structure of the hallways was called into question, the hall where Kanryu was walking now was normal, relatively of course. Besides his ego, his body was only marginally bruised and any energy loss was completely superficial and quickly recovered.

_"The Raitei, he is nothing like I thought he would be. This is not necessarily a bad thing, their was something in him though…something that if I had had only a little more time…pushed a little further, a little harder…"_

"Ah, Kanryu-san." Kanryu was brought out of his ruminations by the tomboyish girl waiting just as she was leaning, almost casually despite the chaos around her.

"Shizuka-san, I almost forgot you were here." Kanryu said stopping for a moment and looking over his shoulder. Shizuka smiled a bit within her usual scowl.

"Feeling a bit cheated?" Kanryu looked at her again.

"I suppose, I had only just begun to discover something…but then I…" Kanryu stopped himself, realizing he was drawing dangerously close to something else, oddly similar to the nature of his abilities.

"You could have refused them, Hirutsuai and Luther, you could have done what you wished." Kanryu kept staring at her, pondering the meaning behind her words and his actions.

"I weighed the choices, incurring the wrath of Hirutsuai is nothing worth consideration, but Luther…choices being choices I'd rather maintain whatever tenuous sanity I have left." Looking back down the hall, he continued. "Should I feel sorry for him?" Kanryu asked out loud, Shizuka was fairly certain the question was not directed at her, but as was her nature she answered anyway.

"It's only natural I guess, to feel a little sympathy for a man or more like a child as he is, about to be exposed to the mind of that cold demon." It was only then Kanryu muttered an actual response to Shizuka's statement.

"Siberia…" then he looked at Shizuka again. "I would hardly consider us human anymore, no one beyond these walls ever did."

"What are we then, if not human?" Shizuka asked, standing upright and facing Kanryu. Despite the literal menagerie of warped, hybrid and otherwise unusual animals surrounding the two awaiting the command of the woman in the bandanna, Kanryu was not intimidated, nor was Shizuka of the man who could draw matter into himself.

"We are…we are the ones not blessed, the ones either spit on by Him for some grievous inconceivable sin that we either did or was done to us by those blessed or we are simply those who were ignored by his ever watchful eye, those simply born to survive, to give praise to those he blessed and act as the walkways and stepping stones for their greatness, the fodder for those who live to be great, we are their sustenance, we are empty vessels by His will." One of Shizuka's eyebrows twitched.

"You honestly believe that?"

"I've had time to think on it, within these walls anyway." Kanryu replied.

"Like I said before, it's only natural to feel sorry for someone. I'm sorry Kanryu-san." An almost resigned Shizuka said.

"You disagree, with everything in this world we have…" Kanryu began to ask.

"This is a universe of chaotic happenstance, what happens is the result of a long series of branched events that started with the 'birth', the beginning. What we are guided by are thoughts and instincts created from the completely random sewing together of chemicals, opinions and the ongoing history we create for ourselves, nothing more." Kanryu looked at her for few moments then looked around.

"Where is Harukai?"

"He drew Mido away, I can send some of my animals to find him or…" Shizuka trailed off.

"No, he almost never accepts my help, you could imagine what he would do if you so much as dared." Shizuka lightly chuckled.

"Yes I do." Kanryu was about to walk off after that but than stopped on his heels and turned to Shizuka.

"Shizuka-san, you're stronger than me and Harukai, at this juncture anyway, why didn't you step in and kill the retrievers?" Shizuka thought and considered her answer for a bit before replying. She then gave her answer as she was walking away, towards the fight still going on, her animals following her.

"The best answer I can give you I guess is…I just didn't feel like it, you know?"

0000000000

"Chaotic happenstance? My Shizuka, where did you pick up such interesting profanity?" Kusano said, his fingers still gliding and speeding over the keys on the keyboard, inputting and analyzing data. On the screen, images and text were being displayed at incredible rates a second, with Kusano's pupils darting back and forth to take it all in. "That 'chaotic happenstance' as you mention it is only a theory, and only partly exists due to His will, even if it is an incomplete creation, one never fully utilized…like me…and like the rest of us one might think…what about you Judas?" no one responded, at least no one that could be heard with human ears or even seen with human eyes.

"I wonder, how far have we truly gone as a race, how far if we haven't even escaped the Lord's wrath, if He has the ability reduce whatever meager accomplishments we've managed to nothingness…why bother continue existing?" again, no response but the home of the computers, the glow of the monitors, and the continued clicking and clacking of the keyboard.

"I suppose that's why I admire you Judas, you were willing to sacrifice yourself, bring about the ascension of another, sully yourself…but you're not finished, that I know for sure." A drop falling could be heard making a miniscule splash in a puddle within the stone crack right next to Kusano.

"Betrayal is inconsequential and memory, perhaps His as well is fleeting. Let's see…" one click brought a cavalcade of windows on the screen, then a red glowing box. "…Hmm, what you have to offer to the void…" on some of the other screens, were Kusano was looking too every few seconds, several faces and figures began to appear and wander into the different respective areas.

"Ah, now it gets interesting…"

0000000000

A flick, a curse and mumbling, cursing and flicking until finally, fire. Lifting the old lighter to his cancer stick, Ban mumbled.

"Damn it, I got careless and now I lost Ginji…shit…friggin Himiko…" sitting down, Ban attempted to relax his nerves, slowly taking in the nicotine and puffing out the smoke. "And just where the hell did that freak with the matches go…least he gave off some fucking light." Ban muttered, kind of regretting not appreciating Ginji being a human flashlight. Adjusting his shades, Ban took a look around himself. Apparently, falling through a hole in some non-visible ceiling, and letting all the force be absorbed by your legs can make your situation very conducive to sitting down. Breathing steadily, more smoke casually poured from Bans lips and nose.

_"Hard to imagine, but this place has me nervous…**me**. This presence it gives off, and what that Harukai bastard said…is it possible…is this building really something akin to Akabane?"_ tapping the broken stone pillar he was sitting on to break off some ash from the cigarette, Ban realized that besides the pillar he knew he was sitting on, the rest of the room, if it was even a room, was enshrouded in complete vast bluish darkness.

"Well, I never got anything by standing still, it's only by moving do things start to hit the shitter, so…" Ban having sufficiently rested enough, got off the pillar and landed the few feet below it. "Let the shit fly." He said walking into the darkness, reaching out to the best of his ability guide his way. Striding over the bits and pieces of debris, both structural and otherwise, Ban felt a bit of trepidation. The further he walked, the less rocks and building refuse he had to step over and the more soft and more life like debris he had to step over. _"Oh yeah, like where this is going."_ Ban thought to himself, soon finding that it was useless to sidestep the softer parts now that they seemed to take up most of the ground he was walking on. Deciding that respecting what seemed to be dead was a luxury he could not afford, Ban began to step as gently as he could on the soft masses, not liking at all the sickening feeling of his foot sinking into whatever it was he was stepping on, or actually, in.

0000000000

Carrying a load, any load no matter the weight, will wear on a person. And in this case, with the load happening to be a fairly tall, fairly heavy man, the wear was quickly bringing tear.

"Would you like to rest Miss Himiko?" Akabane said, for her benefit than for his, at least that's what he wanted to present to her. Himiko, both seeing through this from past experience and from not liking or not used to be treated like glass replied.

"Why, is Doctor Jackal getting tired already?" Himiko smirked from beneath the shoulder she was supporting. From Coals other shoulder, Akabane smiled himself.

"Are you implying something Lady Poison?" he asked, fully aware of the lady's wit that could rival her some of her perfumes in its acidity.

"Oh no, just that maybe the great Kuroudo Akabane should hit the gym a little more often, that's all."

"For someone who seems to have men bashing down her door, I'm so very grateful for the advice." Akabane coolly replied, his smile adding to the obvious jibe. Himiko brushed him off with a laugh.

"The last thing I need right now is a hindrance like that…" Himiko said, not totally sure of that one.

"Perfectly understandable." Akabane replied. Then, their burden shifted on their shoulders, groaning.

"Is Coal-san, will he be alright?" Himiko asked, slightly concerned if only because of the pity she felt.

"Not to sound like an actual doctor on American Television, but 'We've done all we can.' All we can do now is wait and see." The two continued to walk down the widening and narrowing hallway, just walking or just squeezing, depending on the need. Taking a step, Himiko suddenly drew back as a burst of flame shot up into the air.

"Damn it, what the hell is up with this place. Next you'll tell me wounds heal faster here but you can still get cancer die here, right!" A frustrated Himiko yelled, both to and not towards Akabane.

"Actually, save for the strong willed all have a choice here." That caught Himiko off guard. Wanting explanation and a slight break, the two set Coal down against a wall. Surveying where they were now the two Transporters found themselves at the top of a rather large and imposing staircase that of course descended downwards into darkness. What was odd though was the purplish bluish hue now adorning the walls and even the air around them.

"Here, one can either let themselves go, in body, mind, and soul and become one of those…The Formers." Himiko drew a breath. "Or, those who aren't strong willed can…" Akabane trailed off.

"Doctor Jackal?" Himiko asked. Akabane took a deep breath, almost a sigh.

"Oh, I am sorry about that, it's just the book is quite a ways away." Himiko thought about this, and her sore shoulder.

"Out of curiosity, how do you know where the book is?" to this, Akabane smiled again.

"Simple, I know who has the book, he knows that I know and he is letting his aura flare with reckless abandon."

_"We're being led down a trail…"_ Himiko thought to herself. Waiting in the relative peace that the top of the massive stairs afforded them, a distant wailing that seemed to hook into the light fog creating an atmosphere of a distant horror, working its away not towards them, but rather around them, circling and waiting.

Feeling a bit odd, Akabane perked his ears and analyzed his surroundings without making it look like he was analyzing his surroundings, which basically meant concealing it with a smile. On his shoulder, The Jackal felt something crawling up towards his neck, waiting until it was bare millimeters from his neck. Akabane then sliced it to fibers without having looked he moved at all.

"…Akabane? Was that a…?" Himiko began.

"Noose." Akabane responded. Realizing then that their feelings were right all along. Almost falling, The Formers collapsed from the ceilings, some even from the walls themselves by way of revolving panels and trap doors. In tenths of a second, Himiko had chosen her scent and a moment later she was on her feet. What stopped any sort of preemptive measure on the part of Lady Poison was the view of her partner, Doctor Jackal completely unarmed despite the myriad of weapons within himself. "Doctor Jackal…The Formers…they…" Himiko herself trailed off as it dawned on her that the formerly human zombies around them were not attacking, or even moving, in fact besides a little odd swaying back and forth, The Formers were remaining perfectly still. And in the center of it all, Akabane was holding his hat with one hand, directing it so that he could view the world through its slit.

"Kuroudo Akabane, now you're called 'Doctor' Jackal? What a sad state of affairs, eh?" came the grittily vicious voice. Due to the echo of the chamber, the Transporters were unable to locate the man by sound, only by his gigantic aura that almost literally filled the room. Himiko then felt the bile rise in her stomach for the umpteenth time that day.

_"That…bloodlust…it's just pouring out like a broken faucet!"_ She thought to herself, holding back the vomit, looking to Akabane. _"Whoever this is, it's like Akabane if he forced the viciousness out of him." _Then from the ceiling a body, hung by a noose traditionally with the noose around the neck lowered into the mass of Formers.

"Kuroudo…Kuroudo…Kuroudo…" came the voice. From above the heads of the Formers, the curved edge of something appeared as well as a head. The Formers then parted to the motion of the tool being waved.

"Welcome back to us Akabane." Came the voice of the tall lanky man, dressed like a scarecrow, noose dangling from neck. From beneath his straw farmers hat, so oversized that only his curved lips and disturbingly ivory teeth could be seen. Hefting his seven foot scythe, Himiko noticed the Formers take another few steps back, and so she as well felt the urge to do so as well, yet didn't when she found Akabane not moving at all.

"Dr. Jackal?" she asked, slowly and calmly reaching for a vial, needing a defense should the situation turn truly bad.

"Hangman-san, still staying so lovingly true to your theme I see?" Akabane said, looking at this new arrival. Himiko looked back and forth from the two figures realizing with a sickening feeling that she was no longer looking at two men.

"Oh…my Jackal, my Jackal. You've come back…and I don't even care why." Hangman said, bringing his tongue to the head of his scythe and running it over, his tongue revealing itself to be quite long. Himiko looked over to the still unconscious Coal, concerned for his safety with all the Formers, the apparently named Hangman, and as the seconds wore on, the Jackal.

"Miss Himiko…go to Coal-san and protect him…the Formers are looking hungry to the point of disobeying…is it you Hangman-san?" Akabane asked, the smile from his beneath his hat slit masking a similar horror to the one right in front of him. Hangman took a few steps forward.

"Yes…they're obeying me…and yes if hungry enough or just bored enough they'll go after anything. But they'd never obey me like they'd obey and love you..." Hangman said. Admiring Akabanes reflection in the scythe blade, Hangman then looked to him, the part of his face not obscured by the hat, namely his lips, was contorted in a look of utter ecstasy. Himiko moved back slightly, not wanting to make any sudden movements, it would seem this whole place was some kind of powder keg.

"Damn, completely ringed." Himiko muttered, not liking the tactical disadvantage her brain had processed from being surrounded. Then there was the disturbing realization that her scents may or may not work on the Formers. Feeling sweat trickle down her neck, Himiko was curious, she was nervous that was for sure, but nowhere near **that** nervous. A group of about four and what added up to half Formers burst into flames, quickly burned down to ash before they could flail.

"Coal-san?" Himiko knew, and saw from where the Formers used to be was indeed Coal holding his open outstretched left palm.

"Oh well, a few Formers here, a few Formers there…it really doesn't matter at all…you see, they've won the race, they're already dead." Hangman said, looking at the semi fallen Coal with some familiarity. "No small feat, handicapping the outcast fuck over there…again, meaningless excrement." The scarecrow man said, twirling the noose about his neck between two of his fingers.

"Really? Your manner of speech has improved somewhat in the past dozen or so years since I have been gone. Tell me, what is important to you at this particular junction we find ourselves in, Hangman-kun?" Akabane asked, shifting one hand into his coat pocket and one outward, four scalpels extending slowly. Hangman took another few steps forward, and then stopped. Sliding one foot forward slightly, he looked at the scalpels with curiosity for a moment then responded.

"What's important to me, you ask? You have some gall to ask me that…" hefting his scythe, he then positioned it so that his right arm was holding the back of the scythe, and his left hand was outstretched near the front, open palmed, steadying it. "You know what I want from you, what I need from you." Himiko, who had been slowly making her move towards the half-conscious Coal, turned her head back to the confrontation. Much like Lady Poison, the Formers were watching this little standoff, still swaying as if from an unseen breeze.

"Still so cheeky…I pray that what you are referring too is not-" Akabane was almost literally cut off. Hangman yelled, closing the distance between himself and the Jackal before a breath could be taken.

"**The title!**"

0000000000

"Man, how much further down this fucking rabbit hole do I have to go before something worth my time happens?" Ban pondered, making his way across the soft uneven ground that popped and crunched under him, knowing full well what it most likely was. Seemingly reaching a plateau, Ban stuck his foot out only to find the hill of whatever it was he was walking on had ended. Sticking his foot back down, Ban made his way downhill, slowly and carefully, his instincts guiding him.

Walking and walking down, Ban thought he could descend no further until his foot hit something hard, something structural and man-made. _"The floor, good." _Ban thought, looking behind him if not quite to sure what was there. Hearing something, Ban perked his ears as best he could. Luckily whatever sound was being made was not coming from behind the hill or in any other direction that would make him ascend that again. Realizing that the noises were voices, and that were only some ways directly in front of him, Ban proceeded forward. At this point the floor was mostly clean, save the occasional pile of whatever it was Ban was hoping to spare his loafers.

"Bon tache, bonne foi. De bon augure…tch?" the voice of the man in black, his black pony tail in odd juxtaposition with the gold cross earring dangling from his ear, said, in all black, trench coat, shirt, pants etc. With the exception of his face, the only change of color was the single red cross on his chest. Adjusting his modern looking glasses, the man looked at the cause of his interruption, sauntering into view with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Yo, am I interrupting something or what?" Ban asked, not entirely liking the fact that this man, whoever he was, speaking French or some derivation of it, was able to find and see him so easily. Though he was speaking a foreign language at the time, Ban was fairly sure that to be here, he had to know some Japanese.

"Ah, very good very good. I knew if my associate and I caused enough of a…what's that word? Ruckus, we'd attract something, from the looks of you…" the man narrowed his eyes at Ban from the top of whatever it was he was standing on. "It looks like we attracted the devils own rat." A vein popped on Bans forehead, he had been attacked and insulted too much too often today, well, if he were anyone else this might have been true.

"What! Who the fuck do you think you are you all black Goth bastard? What's wrong, life so unfair down in the suburbs that you have to rebel, if you're going to rebel, do it right! Get a Nirvana t-shirt and-" from behind his rant and himself, Ban felt a presence. Turning around and jumping back quickly Ban was surprised to find a woman standing there.

"Whoa, who are you? Why you hanging around this creepy fu-Wait, what's your name?" the girl, who was quite attractive, looked at Ban, opening her mouth slightly, then brought her fingers to her lips. Despite all the weirdness of the day, this stuck Ban as being the oddest, women usually had no problems talking or being with him, in his mind anyway.

"Her name is Joanette, and despite the taint brought on her from her own selfishness she is still too pure hearted and good for trash." Ban looked over his shoulder, a little concerned that this man had approached him so quickly with barely any sounds giving away his movements. Then, he could have been distracted from having looked at Joanettes figure, but that is not really germane to the topic and so it goes. Sensing the approaching mans growing power, in addition to something else, Ban backed away slowly from the pair, expecting one or both to attack.

"Joanette huh? And who the hell are you? That cross says you're a priest, but from that presence you're giving off I find it a bit hard to believe you're just a simple preacher." His foot hitting something Ban looked down, lighting his lighter, Ban realized what it was he had been walking on.

"My name is Father Corsair of the Vatican Church…" Ban then knew what those piles were, what that mountain was. They were corpses of those creatures, those former men and women that occupy this building. With a smile, the priest stated his epithet.

"To those who revel in sin, I am the Vicious Cross."

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Well as of this writing, school is just about done, that's good, and it can't come soon enough. I can say without a doubt that this year has been one of my worst in every way I can think of right now, despite what everyone has told me, thus proving once and for all that most people are idiots. Also as of this writing, I have beaten Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and have now moved on to Vice City, maybe by next writing I'll be done with that (I take long enough either way.) Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, on to the reviews.

Rabid Lola: Hey, thanks for reviewing, and curse you for seeing through my clever ruse…or something like that. As for your remarks regarding Kusano, you'll soon see just why he thinks like he does and how he can do all that he is capable of (foreshadowing a little?) As for Corsair, well, wouldn't want to spoil anything right? For Akabanes arm, no it didn't burn off, and that was my fault for not being descriptive enough, my apologies. Thank you for sympathizing with Coal, I tried to make his plight a sad one, and believe me certain stories (maybe his, maybe not) will get more sad as the whole arc goes on. For the honorifics I appreciate the concern and I might take you up on it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and are ready (to wait) for the next one! Heh, kidding (I hope). Before I forget, I'd just like to say I read your story "Wait" and enjoyed it immensely, just was too lazy to review.

Mayumi-san: Glad to see you liked my story so far, thanks for reviewing and I hope you stick around for the long run! Also, I wait with bated breath (too much Brit Lit) for the next chapter of 'Gemstone Waltz'.

Atropos' Knife: Hey, glad to see you welcoming my triumphant return! And I'm equally glad to see you enjoy the antics of everyone's favorite psychopathic clown, as for his fate…well we'll just have to see huh? For the spelling hiccups, well here's a whole other chapter for you to sink your teeth into, enjoy! I'm kidding of course, and I really appreciate the errors pointed out to me, how the hell else will I get any better at this? I'm happy Coals less than happy circumstances reached you and thank you for the comments regarding the themes of the story. I've got more to go as far as the length and the depth of what is discussed so just give me time. For Corsair and the timing of the Pope, come on even I'm not **that** devious…well maybe but that wasn't my intention. As for Ginji, you wouldn't believe how hard it is for me to write for him, getting that blend of naïveté and hardened instinct just right, surprisingly despite his depth Ban is an easier character for me to write. Believe me, Jackal and Himikos troubles have only just begun to escalate. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter as much, or better, that works too.

Sylerna: Thank you kindly for your review and Jackal appreciation, why he isn't the main guy in Get Backers is beyond me…then I guess you'd have to call it 'Transporters' instead…or maybe just 'J'. I hope to hear from you again on this chapter and I will most definetly read one of your Get Backers works…or any works I'm sure its all good! Thank you much.

Kore Yan: Hello there, I once again appreciate your review and your questions. The Laughing Phantom dead? Yes, of course, most definitely, he got stabbed in the face…you see Longest Yard yet? Heh, never mind. And no, Akabane still has both much feared arms, it's nothing on your part so please forgive my vagueness in my writing, happens too much for my liking. Hope you liked what you saw here and I hope to hear your opinions again.

Well, here we are at the end…I'm beat. Movies to see, games to play, colleges to flunk out of. I'll see you all when I see you, whenever that is.


	10. The Walls Close In Slowly

Disclaimer: Despite my continued attempts at acquisitioning Get Backers I have yet to own it…I'll keep you posted.

Author's Notes: I can't apologize enough on how long it has been since the last chapter, so I won't, heh. Anyway I intend to keep the promise I made, I will finish this story, so please all those out there still with me, please bare with me. It gets weirder and weirder as the curtain rises…

Dominus Grim:

Chapter Ten: The Walls Close In Slowly

_"Invisible blades?"_

_"Heh, does something like that frighten you?"_

_"Something like what?"_

_"Something that cannot be perceived as easily as the nose on your face, but rather the air around you?"_

_"You think too much Vishante-kun."_

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From within the walls of the Aku no Kami, through the halls, down the walkways, all infected with their twisted brand of horrific sin, came the sound of a single tapping. Down, deeper and deeper into the building that personified man and the thoughts he would rather keep to himself, or let loose when no shame or consequence came of it or worse when either of those factors didn't matter.

"…ah…ha ha ha…" Kusano muttered, his voice hopping and skipping in a tired yet contented laugh, like a man with passion for all the wrong reasons. While normally one would type at their computers sitting in a chair, or at least sitting up, Kusano was on his side, typing on the computer with one hand, or rather just one finger, and slowly at that.

"…ah, Judas…how can life be so equal parts tragedy…" at this point the laughing started up again, akin to hiccups. "…and comedy? Did He really intend for it all to stagnate like this? From warriors and wars to offices and hidden silliness?" the tapping continued, yet somehow on the screen, the images were flashing and blinking as rapidly as ever. The machine that had been flipping the Dominus Grim's pages was now working twice as fast as it once was, yet impossibly not ripping the pages, not ripping the pages, but carefully sectioning them off.

"…KkUsano…kuuuun?" the voice of a Former stuttered, a fairly new one as shown by the relatively generous amounts of skin still left on it and it's ability to string together a word. Kusano looked up at this new entry, but his hand never left the keyboard, his one finger in spasms hitting various keys in what would appear to the vast majority of witnesses as gibberish code. Looking the Former up and down, and wondering if it was once a woman or merely youngish man with long hair, Kusano narrowed his eyes realizing that due to reasons like faith, circumstance and mere apathy towards the subject, he really didn't care.

"Ms. Hai sent you, right? For the comfort of the amusing little pet I am to her, yes? Lay down here please." The Former, already far enough along to not resist orders, did as he, she, it was told and lay down in front of Kusano, in front of the monitor.

"I wonder if this sort of action, this little grasp for something is so looked down upon…my piety was holy as was my discretion…Judas…help those others…" Kusano trailed off, his one free hand still typing on the keyboard over the Former, his other nestled snuggly around the Former's waist. "…help those others to find you, as I have…save us or don't…offer us real salvation…or understanding…His love…for those blessed…" Kusano finished, his eyes closed, his typing hand gently detaching itself the tapping continuing, his teeth biting hard into found flesh.

0000000000

"So Doctor…**diagnose me!**" Hangman yelled crossing the already minimal space between himself and Akabane with the speed of a vicious thought. Bringing his nigh ridiculously oversized scythe in a gigantic arc, Hangman clicked his gargantuan tongue in pleasure as Doctor Jackal vanished with the cutting motion, leaving only air and a half dozen Formers to be cut, sliced, and dashed to fleshy wrappings.

"Oh my…those…men? Weren't they your…" Himiko said, barely able to get the words out due to the utter feeling of bile this man gave off and the genuinely heinous acts he seemed so easily capable of committing. Yet, this did not stop her from getting a few vials out, despite Akabane's as always unspoken refusal of assistance or lack of need of assistance.

"They were…just as Kuro-chan and I, dead to the world and judged to that death." Hangman said, contempt pouring out of him as well as any semblance of subtlety.

"Oh grief, still so melodramatic, eh Hangman-san?" Akabane said, his cordiality all the more his usual self from his vantage on the ceiling looking down through his hat.

"Melodramatic you say?" Hangman jeered, grasping the nose around his throat. Through some perverted miracle, the rope extended and lashed out towards the vertical Doctor Jackal at lightning speeds. Himiko had to blink once, then again, and repeatedly to keep the nauseating amount of movements in front of her from turning her stomach.

All along the ceiling nooses were coming from every which way, somehow from the scarecrow man's fixed position. Akabane, seemingly dodging them easily enough, noticed with some consternation, bits and shavings of his clothes and skin were flaking off due to rope burn.

"I assume it is still all that matters to you," Akabane began, ejecting some scalpels from between his knuckles. "This title, that seems to be both your be all and end all." He finished, slashing away at the antiquated tools of death flying around him. To his surprise, his own tools of lethality did nothing but pass through the ropes as bullets through mist.

"You honestly didn't think they were real did you?" Hangman asked, relishing his own sarcasm and the slight almost imperceptible look of frustration this evinced from Akabane. Using his one microsecond of opportunity Hangman brought the nearly vapor like nooses around the various ebony and flesh points around the Transporter and pulled.

"Doctor Jackal!" Himiko yelled, her outburst in perfect sync with the blood scattered from the good Doctor.

"Well now…this is a delicious little surprise, you really serious aren't you?" Akabane said, in mid air and only after this statement began to float down slowly. Righting himself so that he landed on his feet Akabane looked at the various shades and shapes of blood around his body, only regarding it for a moment.

"Kuroudo Akabane, Doctor Jackal, the Hated Transporter…Judas." Hangman said, enticed by the slight eyebrow quirk from Akabane and the silent gasp from Himiko. "To see you again, after all these years. I finally have my second chance." Lost in his thoughts and reasons, the living scarecrow grasped his straw hat in one hand and his scythe in the other. His novelty sized tongue hanging out to full length, he launched himself at Doctor Jackal once again.

"One after the other, how can so many guys like Akabane be in one place at the same time without killing each other, or at least without keeping their damn mouths closed?" Himiko joked to herself glibly watching one demon launch itself at another. Having to dodge the excess force released from their collision, Himiko was soon made aware that she had her own demons to deal with. All personal ones notwithstanding, the ones in question were actually tangible ones standing not five feet from her.

Looking the Former humans turned demonic fodder over, Himiko slowly put the vials in one of her hands away and backed away just as slowly towards the now conscious Coal.

"Probably a stupid question but: "Can you get up?"" Himiko asked, extending one hand towards the sitting Coal. Himiko felt a chill, seeing Coal witness the fight, most specifically from looking at Coal's eyes. These were eyes that had the old sheen of something bright, something luminous, but now were cold and as sharp as the jagged walls around them. The coldness of his eyes was disturbing, but maybe the very fact that there was even a sheen of something from before, from his past and more than likely from before his arrival in this man made Hell, it is possible that this was most disturbing of all, that simply being in a building can warp and twist a human soul so much, force them to adapt into something resembling their own fears.

However, Himiko was a professional and as such was in no mood for wasting time or staring into a mans eyes.

"Hey, if you can try and come too alright?" she asked, snapping her fingers. Coal flinched a bit and looked over at the crouching Transporter. The icy visage did not alter a bit yet he nodded. Himiko simply knew this was in response to her first question if only because through her experience first impressions (minus actions) about her barely if ever constituted much respect. Sliding an arm under one of Coals dirtily scarred shoulders and hefting him up as much as her small frame allowed, Himiko immediately regretted this momentary yet all too crucial loss of both of her arms.

"Kikikikikikikikikikik." the Formers encircling the fighting Akabane and Hangman turned their heads a full one hundred and eighty degrees; this was quite the odd feat considering their bodies were standing perfectly still. Himiko contorted her face into a sneer, doing her damn best to cover the fear and sickness quelling in her gut.

"Wwitchthth bluuuud." One of the Formers began mouthing, what it was doing with its mouth could not reasonably be called speaking, if only because the sound emanating from its throat had no indication of being made by anything resembling vocal cords. If this could be considered upsetting, then the level of horrific tension was increased as the other six or so other Formers quickly joined in chorus.

"On top of it all…they have a nose for blood." Himiko muttered glibly, this whole situation would **definitely** be fuel for many nightmares to come. The Formers, seeming to respond to this statement, began to walk towards Himiko and Coal, not bothering to turn their bodies to match their heads, so in effect they were walking backwards with backwards turned heads facing forewords.

Not ten or so feet away, sparks were flying, and not because two potential lovers had hit it off. Well, that wasn't the case for both parties at least.

"Oh, come on!" Hangman cried in response to Doctor Jackal holding back his scythe…barely…with his storied scalpels. "You cannot use something so flimsy!" he yelled, putting more force behind his scythe and beginning to skid the Jackal ever so slowly across the moist cobblestone floor. For his part the good doctor had both hands out of his pockets now and his right scalpel armed hand shaking from the slow but all consuming resistance from the scythe.

With a grunt, Akabane matched the force behind his scalpels with that of his opponent. With a flash of multiple lights and few sounds of rushing air, Akabane suddenly landed a few feet behind Hangman, on one knee.

"Ah, I'm beginning to understand the depth of your devotion Hangman-kun." Akabane said, clearly jesting as he let the halved remains of his once proud medical instruments fall and clatter to the ground. Hearing a slight tear, Akabane noticed a few long but shallow cuts along his chest and shoulders. They were of no concern as of yet, only a little more than cloth deep at this point.

"'Depth of my devotion' eh? You certainly love your words don't you, you scab bastard?" Hangman said, hate dripping through a smile shaped filter. Lunging at Akabane without any further exposition, Hangman swung his scythe blunt edge first. His speed allowing him to fade into an ebony flicker Akabane sidestepped the force, only to have the wall behind him burst into small rubble along with mostly dust which flew past and over his back. "How long has it been? Twelve years? Seems longer but time really is a bitch with a lying whorish mouth." Hangman said as easily as if giving a lesson to eager students. His body barely inches from Akabane in the same lunging position as his attack; Hangman looked over his right shoulder.

"That title, that untouchable invisible thing that no one here but you and I and-"

"**Him**, you were going to say **Him**, weren't you Kuroudo!" Hangman cut him off.

"It is meaningless as always Hangman-kun, if only three people acknowledge it." Akabane continued un-perturbed though his smile did drop to its neutral position. Extracting his arm and scythe from what remained of the wall, Hangman waited the few instants it took for the little slab to disintegrate. Placing the scythe across his shoulders and looping his arms around it in a make shift crucifixion, Hangman began to dance around in an odd fashion, shuffling his feet and swinging his neck to swing and sway the noose and rope around his neck.

The fire that burst forth from the newly re-made wall only added to the dancing spectacle as did the horribly gigantic and tragically small turning gears. All the noise, and for Akabane and Hangman, none of it mattered save the sadly important show between them. Hangman's normally course and guttural voice made no change, but what ushered forth from his mouth was nothing more or less than the embodiment of a haunted song.

0000000000

"_'The Vicious Cross'_, huh? '_For those who revel in sin_.'was it?" Ban said, one eyebrow slowly making its pilgrimage north. After a few moments filled to bursting with tension, Ban snorted, releasing some of the smoke he had breathed in from one of his cancer sticks. This was quickly followed by Ban abandoning any semblance of first impressions and laughing his smoke filled lungs out. Corsair looked on, his carefully perched glasses glinting despite the near absence of light. From behind him, Joanette held one hand delicately to her mouth, not quite knowing what to make of this new character in her life.

"I take it a well earned title amuses you?" Corsair asked casually, the smile that looked and felt like no human smile never leaving his lips. Tilting his head slightly and adjusting his glasses, Corsair looked at the still bellowing Ban, up and down.

"Oh, dude, I **am **sorry, if you had to actually **earn** that fucking title! I mean there are so many idiot bands in America and the U.K. alone with much better names and they just come up with those and- hey!" Ban stopped his laughing and his speech when he realized that Corsair had his head turned and was mumbling some words to Joanette, most likely in French, or a similar sounding sublanguage. Resisting the urge to stomp his foot like a child jilted out of a new bike Ban merely did what he could do as well as any singer: yell.

"**Hey!** It is damn rude to ignore someone and talk to someone else in a different language!" Ban screamed, only after the yell escaped his throat did he acknowledge the disturbing inverted echo that came back to him from, presumably, the walls. A few more mumblings in the language of love from Corsair to Joanette then they resumed their gazes towards Ban. Joanette looked at the snake man and then just as quickly blushed and bowed.

"I am sorry; it was rather rude of us to carry on like that. What a treat it is though, to discuss things such as etiquette with one of your kind." Corsair said, his eyes fixed right into the storied eyes of the Jagan man. Ban unconsciously clinched his fist, that one word in that one context 'kind' dragging a few unwanted memories from deep within Ban's subconscious, some of which involving his mother.

"And what kind would that be exactly, padre?" Ban mumbled tersely, clamping down a little tighter on the ivory death stick now between his teeth. Almost like a fop of old, Corsair responded, the back of his wrist against his mouth as he did, laughing all the time like it was the most joyous thing in the world.

"Why, a sinning demon attached to another sinning demon! And this is really saying something considering where we are." Ban felt a chill, looked from Corsair to Joanette who seemed to be refusing to meet his stare. The retriever did not like this. This Father Corsair seemed to know much more than he was letting on, especially in regards to him.

"Heh, so I'm a sinning demon attached to another sinning demon am I? What the hell does that make you, an ivory flower in a building of shit?"

"To truly extract and exterminate the most horrid sins, one must attack right at the source, with all the righteous and pure ferocity a good man can muster." Corsair responded, the look in his light charcoal eyes looking far past Ban, yet somehow almost through him at the same time. Ban felt a twitch.

"Look buddy, I am only here to get an ungrateful chick that bit off more than she could chew…again. I got no beef with you or your…insanity…so kindly fornicate off before you hurt yourself." Ban said, attempting to go the route of valor and avoid yet another fight in what felt like in his life was just another part of an endless string. Corsair looked at Ban, straight at Ban.

"I am sorry, but you are impure. Letting you go now would be an affront to the Lord." Corsair said, tapping his right pants pocket in tune to the steps he was taking towards the witch blooded retrieval agent. Ban took a few preemptive steps back, sliding one foot forward when he stopped. Feeling the rapid rise of aura around him, Ban looked at Corsair then at the girl behind him, and then a thought occurred.

"Oh sonuvabit-"he was cut off by the sweeping sound of a black coat sailing too close to his legs. Ducking beneath the spin kick that Corsair had managed in addition to the instantaneous movement, Ban lost his breath. His cheek had a cut closer looking to a gash that encompassed nearly the length of his profile. His cigarette falling to the ground, forgotten, Ban gripped the ground praying, no, hoping that whatever he grasped wasn't formally able to talk to him. His two hundred kilogram grip was luckily able to find its home into some bare cobblestone, yet, like the rest of the floor in that building, it was moist, with something that most if not all would suspect was not water. Throwing down his arm Ban forced his weight and strength behind his possessed arm and propelled himself up and over Corsair.

"Shit on a cracker, you're pretty fast. You that fast for all the choir boys?" Ban sniggered, wiping the blood trailing down the edge of his face.

Feeling a tick he spared a glance over his shoulder towards the girl, Joanette, still behind him, who had yet to move. She was simply staring at the battle in front of her with nothing save a very slight frown indicating she was even paying attention.

"Hey girl, you alright, this freak-" again Ban was cut off, though this time he was ready, jumping out of the way in time for Corsair to plunge his fist deep into the stone floor, Ban grit his teeth in annoyance at the obviously driven show of strength. Ban expected this, as he more or less expected the stone to turn to vapor. However, what surprised him was the copious amount of fluids that gushed forth from the ground like a deranged artist's version of red wine.

"What the fuc…oh good I was getting thirsty. It is past five right?" Ban joked, covering the sudden chill he felt in his chest. Corsair looked at him through the drizzling plasma, an unreadable look on his face. Ban glared back at him only slightly perturbed that his priest opponent wasn't the least bit bothered by the blood liberally pouring all over him. Deciding to take the offensive, Ban launched himself at Corsair, elbowing him in the face. Sending Corsair flying past Joanette at such speeds to kick up her dress a few inches, Ban landed back on his feet just long enough to shake off the stray droplets of blood that had innocently wandered over to him.

Shifting his sunglasses, Ban pondered the need for them in this nigh pitch black environment and pocketed them. Sensing only a fledgling aura from where the area he surmised he had lovingly sent Corsair too, Ban casually walked over to Joanette. Said girl was taken aback a bit, blushing she took a few skittish steps backwards. Raising an eyebrow Ban looked her up and down, thinking thoughts only a brilliant tactician such as he could.

_"Damn she has a sweet ass." _Ban thought for a few seconds and mentally smashed these lurid thoughts of his with that hammer he always looked to save for Ginji when he was acting extra Ginji-ish. Effectively stopping the devious machinations of his own libido, Ban looked at Joanette with a calm face that betrayed neither anger nor any sort of sweet emotion, the face of a professional.

"Hey, Joanette wasn't it? Why are you here, in this place with Father 'Burn Em' All' back there?" Joanette looked at him a few seconds; the blush gone and her face neutral again, though she was still skitting slowly away. Ban turned to face her retreating form, thankful he guessed her name right from the jumbled French he overheard. "Come on; don't be scared, I just want to help you. What's this asshole got on you?" stopping again, Joanette blinked twice. Bowing her head, though this time in what looked like resignation, she closed her eyes and mouthed something.

"You're…sorry?" Ban deduced from what lip reading skills he could cobble together in his head. Realizing that she might not speak Japanese, Ban scoured his brain for any and all French he knew. Feeling a moisture touch his shoulder, Ban bit back his spit then turned around.

"You called me rude, yes? Well, my dog, turning your back on an opponent so willing to kill you from behind is also rude." Corsair said, the blood now trailing down his body and being slurped up, quite literally, by the ground. In seconds Corsair was as clean, clean being relative, as he was moments before. Now, the only indication that there was ever a demonically artistic fountain of blood was the at present tranquil fist made pool of blood between him and Ban. Closing that distance as Ban was about to, Corsair appeared at his side, fist already halfway towards Bans now only remaining good cheek. A grunt and some air being forced in various directions then sounded their clash.

"Rude, and tactical suicide." Corsair said, not at all annoyed his outstretched fist was now engulfed in the mythic grip of the serpent. Ban smiled grimly.

"This place is truly hell, with a complete cast of devils." He said, twisting his back to pull Corsair into a downward throw, knowing a second later his quarry was gone Ban jumped back to miss the designer black shoe crashing down.

"Present company excluded of course?" Corsair asked a smile that knew so much more playing on his lips. Ban responded in kind with spit on those once nice designer black shoes. Corsair looked down. "Oh well, one more act of indiscretion should mean little to you by now, eh?" Ban was already on top of him. Blocking Ban's right fist with his left arm, Corsair dug his heel into the ground behind him squirting some subterranean crimson as he did. Bringing his own right fist into a fierce uppercut, Corsair clicked his teeth as Ban avoided the fist and backpedaled off it back onto the ground in a perfect flip. Feeling a sense of mirth deep in his gut he had not felt in apparent ages, Corsair chuckled himself, and then spit twice.

"Why not use those cursed eyes of yours _monsieur_ Ban Mido, or would you prefer _Ore-sama_?" relishing the slight but noticeable bulge of the eyes this evinced from Ban, Corsair took this time to tug at his black gloves emblazoned with matching red crosses. Taking out his bible from his pocket, Corsair closed his eyes a moment, took in a breath than opened his eyes and smiled again. "Do you see this? Can you comprehend what this is? Truly? I have memorized it, every single passage and quote, into my mind, body and hear-"it was Corsair to be cut off this time by Ban speedily appearing behind him, his palm opened. Keeping his bible in his left hand, Corsair turned on his heel and a few degrees gracefully in the air, dodging Bans hand. Ban continued his assault, with Corsair dodging or parrying every attack. Finally Ban felt his hand connect with leather.

"Do you see how powerful it is? Does it not burn that flesh of yours!" Corsair, a bit frenzied now, asked. Ban smirked, baring his teeth.

"Just a book," Ban muttered, bringing his left foot out in a sweep to get Corsair to jump back. "It's just a book, Priesty; I for one feel there's more power in action than words, printed or otherwise." Smirking that smirk of his, Ban continued. "But then, that's just from the perspective of a demon man." Ban couldn't read the reaction on Corsairs face due to both his bowed head and the nearly all consuming darkness of the room, but he could almost taste the seething.

_"Just a book?_ Yes, a demon given human form would think that…wouldn't it? But the Lord is very clear about how cunning you and yours can be and as such…" Corsair then pocketed his bible and brought his right hand forward. "…we're given special access to his left arm…" Corsair snapped his fingers and a small spark appeared and disappeared. Ban blinked, not sure if he just saw a giant black cross appear right in front of Corsair. Ban was sure of his eyesight when he saw additional crosses, alternating between black and white, appear next to the first. All as big as two men, the crosses hovered a few inches above the floor serving as an almost ominous fence between Ban and the priest of the Vicious Cross.

"What the hell…this some kind of illusion?" Ban asked, wondering if of all things the Jagan suddenly had a Roman Catholic equivalent. Corsair smiled a simple smile, this smile made all the more horrific by the crosses in front of him. The sparse lighting, combined with the abundant shadows all came together to give his face an almost monstrous jokers grin.

"I don't hide behind illusions you filth blood whore child." Ban narrowed his eyes, he was used to being put down and challenged, but unlike his usual confrontations there was no air of mirth here, not even of sick perversion. This man in front of him was simply a maniac elitist with a small dash of psychosis tossed in for spice. Increasing his speed beyond what he had been displaying previously, Ban punched what he hoped for satisfactions sake was Corsairs jaw. But like all good plans conceived in moments, it fell apart. Bans' fist connected with the air inches in front of Corsairs jaw, quickly deflected by what looked like an electrical charge.

"Damn it, what the hell kind of electricity was that!" Ban yelled, the pain in his hand lingering and increasing as the seconds ticked by. Looking down, the snake man saw that his hand had blackened significantly. But this was soon made difficult as his vision quickly began to blur.

"Your use of words like 'hell' and 'holy' is almost adorable. You see my lucklessly born friend, these are the reason I am called 'Vicious Cross'." Corsair said, not even acknowledging Joanette who had slowly walked up beside him. Ban looked towards the source of the voice but found that he couldn't see it, or even hear it as time went by. With his senses quickly being impaired, Ban thought fast and tried to dash away lest his moment of weakness be exploited. Just as quickly he found that the crosses had encircled him completely as body slamming into them had the same effect as punching one.

"Fsssh, you're pathetic you know that? If you're going to fight, then fight and finish it already! I hide behind illusions? How is you debilitating your opponent and hiding behind **that** any different, huh?" Ban yelled, keeping whatever senses he had left open. Corsair then smiled again, only this time Joanette was there to witness it too. The crosses began to glow black and white. Then, the lightning struck.

0000000000

Ginji Amano felt as if he was losing his mind, granted his brain as a muscle was a little less than flex worthy, but still the twisting and contorting of the hall was enough to disturb or at least disorient even the most well read person. However, if the warping halls didn't shake Ginji to his essence completely, it was the grasping and moaning hands that completely took away the tourist appeal of the Aku no Kami. The hands seemed to be of every conceivable kind. Living, dead, clear, opaque, big and small, the only thing that seemed to unify them was their simultaneous moaning.

Although the moaning was incomprehensible to Ginji, he could swear the hands were speaking, or at least communicating to each other somehow. The former lightning emperors' attention was soon drawn from the walls to his opponents, Luther and Hirutsuai.

"What is this place?" Ginji asked or yelled over the moaning language of the hands to his fellow hall occupants. Hirutsuai lowered the cloth from his bottom lip and spoke plainly, which oddly enough caused the hands to cease their 'conversation' and remain idle as fists, palms and every other conceivable gesture in between.

"The Aku no Kami." Ginji blinked, hearing the Japanese and not expecting it.

"The 'bad of' kami? And wait a second…how did you get those creepy hand things to stop…uh…hand talking like that?" Ginji asked, stopping himself from reverting to tare to ask. Hirutsuai seemed about to answer but the then stopped, smiling and looking at his young charge.

"You are perfectly capable of doing it yourself…well…not in **that** form exactly." Luther said, suspecting Ginji would know exactly which form he was referring too, as it was the one that seemed to be garnering him so much attention most of his life.

"Raitei…the Lightning Emperor." Ginji mumbled to himself, the warping room temporarily forgotten. His stroll down memory lane soon had its legs broken when several flashing points flew at him. Letting out a gasp that caused his electrical aura to falter and drop all the metallic junks in it, Ginji twitched and dodged awkwardly. Missing the objects for the most part, Ginji could nonetheless feel blood dripping down his arms and legs from the cuts the objects left him.

"Diamonds…not quite metal Raitei, so your control over these will be less than absolute." Hirutsuai said, diamonds juggling above the palm of his hand. Ginji grunted, realizing that much like his previous opponent, any attempts at a peaceful resolution would most likely be in vain. Focusing, Ginji let loose a few errant bolts of electricity.

"He's every bit his other half, isn't he?" Luther asked.

"Indeed." Hirutsuai said.

The duo dodged the bolts despite the random narrowness of the hallway, and appeared above Ginji. Looking up, Ginji directed some more voltage skyward, causing the pair to separate and land on opposite sides of him.

"Why hold back Raitei? You have no reason or any logic for it amongst our crowd." Hirutsuai asked his fourteen karat chained watch lashing out and around Ginjis' throat. In an instant Ginji focused an unreal amount of electrical power through the chain, melting it completely. Detaching the chain in a rush, Hirutsuai jumped back, not minding landing on and breaking some still idle hands. Through teary eyes and haggard breaths Ginji looked at Hirutsuai and then to his other side towards Luther.

"First Kanryu…now you guys…this place reminds me too much-"

"Of Mugenjou?" Luther asked, a smile appearing on his lips with all the kind sincerity of a derailed train. Ginji looked at his face and felt a sudden chill, this chill was threatening to turn to full on convulsions, but sheer force of will managed to rein it in.

"That's some kind of will power you have Raitei, I wonder if your partner is similarly equipped?" Luther asked again, his joyless smile folding with every word. Upon finishing his sentence Luther's face resembled something so cold, so sharply focused that if this were any place but the man made hell on Earth then it would have to be a nightmare.

"What…did you say?" Ginji asked, irritated about being referred to so much in so little time about the thing he considered his beast within. Something clicked, Ginji knew, despite not being the tactical genius Ban was; all these events were meshing together too well to just be acts of God.

"He said pay attention!" Hirutsuai yelled, the joy pouring out every word by the bucket. Unleashing a golden diamond encrusted plate like some sort of satanic Frisbee, the citrus discus whizzed towards the ironically golden haired retrieval agent. Falling back with his palm open, Ginji peppered the projectile with his power.

"Even I know gold is a metal!" Ginji bellowed, stopping the disc in mid air and suspending it, though it was still oscillating at high speed. What Ginji left out and what no doubt would have hampered his counterattack was that little science fact had to be beaten into his skull by his partner when he accidentally swallowed some gold galleon a while back, thinking the gold was just 'some kind of fancy wrapping'. Despite the slight pain from the memory, Ginji couldn't help but smirk.

"Do they teach what a distraction is in Mugenjou, Raitei Ginji Amano Raitei?" Hirutsuai asked, or cooed more like, somehow reading the twitch in Ginjis' façade. His mammoth patience reaching its busting point, Ginji launched the disc straight at Hirutsuai. Fully intending to stop the disc moments before it collided with Hirutsuai, Ginji was more than a little shocked when Hirutsuai's various black rags all opened and enlarged at once, simulating a demonically plant like mouth. After swallowing the gold disc, the cloth fell to its limp prior position.

"That's it! No more questions!" Ginji whirled his head to face Luther. Though he was slightly unnerved at what just happened he didn't show it, in fact his face was much closer to what a professionals should be so much so that it would surprise his partner.

**"What the hell have you done to Ban-chan?"** Ginji bellowed again only this time his electric aura matched his voice. More similar to some divine dynamo than a man, Ginji's raw power crackled and then bathed the entire corridor in yellowish white light. With a cataclysmic shriek, all the uprooted hands dissolved into black ash.

"I didn't know you could be so cruel." Luther said, approaching the surging Ginji slowly but with a sureness in his step that belied an immunity to anything resembling fear. Though his power raged, Ginji made a conscious effort not to hit Luther, yet.

"Yes, now you are the man we wanted to see, the man who could in all conceivability actually understand us!" Hirutsuai yelled, his arms outstretched like some prophet of irony facing down the Devil himself. At this point Ginji only regards him with an eye, giving most of his attention to the approaching Luther.

"Where…is…Ban?" Ginji asked, less open rage in his voice that was more than compensated by its' seething tone. In response Luther brought his hands together, crossing his pointer and middle fingers in a make shift cross, shaped to an X over Ginji.

"You'll have to beat it out of me, cruel devil." Luther said as coldly as the somehow glacial violet of his eyes. Ginji felt a twitch, almost like something entering his head with a filthy pick and bloody shovel, salivating at the thought of raping the earthen ground of his subconscious. Not wanting to wait another second to find out what this feeling entailed, Ginji began to bring his lightning down on Luther, not to kill, but enough to stop the growing buzz humming going on in his head.

"Raitei Ginji Amano, why couldn't you have been one of ours?" Hirutsuai said, seriousness returning to his voice, which oddly enough began to match tone with Luther's in an eerie duplication. Ginji intended to pay no mind to this, the tactical part of his brain had ruled that Luther was the main target and should be approached as such. "Midas' Folly." Came the voice from behind the Lightning Emperor.

"Ugh, what is this!" Ginji yelled, his lightning and entire aura being suddenly forced inward. Feeling his arms snapping into his sides, Ginji looked down to find his mid-section completely encircled by gold dust with a similarly colored gold chain within it adorned with a single link with a donkey's ears on it.

"As stated, this is Midas' Folly," seeing Ginji struggle and surge more of his power into the ever constricting gold bond prompted Hirutsuai to continue. "Midas was a King so long ago in ancient Greece. Misguided contemporaries are taught he is a myth," seeing Ginji further struggling and surging brought an almost nostalgic glaze to Hirutsuai's eyes. "He was a man of such greed, his lust for gold so far and beyond the bounds of his kingdom and Greece itself," whether Ginji was paying attention or not was irrelevant. Luther however appeared to be paying close attention while maintaining his hand formations towards Ginji. "He was given a curse, masked as a gift…anything and everything he touched turned to gold…his unquenchable lust sated, his soul the price."

"Damn…Ur…ugh…" Ginji kept struggling, his power continuing to flow out of him, all of it disappearing in the chain yet neither the chain nor Ginji showed any signs of giving in. Hirutsuai smiled the chill it evinced similar to his ward Luther.

"Many generations ago, several hundred…a whore of my line mingled with a drunken bastard of Greek descent."

"Why the sudden bout of nostalgia Hirutsuai, does the Raitei bring back memories of something?" Luther asked, his eyes beginning to glow and his hair beginning to move to an invisible breeze. Hirutsuai looked at him, memories flashing in his eyes, then in Luther's of wandering, of being chased, of being rescued and finally of the cold.

"Nothing at all, just how we came here I suppose." Ginji's power pulsed and surged, a few spare lightning bolts escaped the golden chain and struck towards Hirutsuai. Promptly dodging, Hirutsuai skidded to a stop next to Luther. Chuckling a bit, Hirutsuai added a final comment to the approaching Ginji, who was made slower and slower by the tightening and increasing density of the chain. "You can't break it Raitei Ginji Amano Raitei, **Raitei** could…but I doubt you're man enough to truly bring him out. Do you know what Midas' fate was? He was eventually turned into an ass…considering no one has ever survived the chain for an extended time perhaps that could be your fate?"

"Enough now, let's do the polite thing and give him forewarning." Luther said, an odd symbol appearing on his forehead simultaneously with the one on Ginji's head. A black half oval with a white center appeared on Luther, looking like an eye, with a white half oval with a black center appearing on Ginji. Luther clicked in his tongue in bemused annoyance.

"Oh darn, you really don't let your guardian have any fun do you?" with a smile and wave of his hand, the golden chain detached and clattered to the ground. The gold mist itself dissipated around Ginji as the gold chain slithered towards and up the hem of Hirutsuai's robe wrapping around him and turning to a barely visible gold trim then disappearing. "I suppose it would be a cruel fate, even I don't know what prolonged exposure to this curse could do."

"Yes, well, we can't be too cruel now can we?" Luther asked, the glow in his eyes matching the one in Ginji's. With a flinch on Luther's part, the Ginji's subconscious was not only drilled, but ripped apart and sundered beyond one time recognition. Thus, the screaming could be understood.

0000000000

"Damn, I guess I'm too late." Shizuka muttered to herself. Stopping a few yards from the entranced and screaming Ginji, Shizuka looked at Hirutsuai casually standing guard over the focused and glowing Luther. Whether they knew or even acknowledged her presence was unknown. Scratching the bandanna over her forehead she was quickly surrounded by her gang of abnormal, deformed, or otherwise 'don't stare and point' type of animals. "Oh well, I guess someone will need help after all this." Sitting down on the cold cobblestone floor, she began to scratch and pet a dog with four eyes and a buzzards less than glorious wings. Surrounded by her animals, the scene was tranquil and made disturbingly surreal with a man screaming not thirty feet away.

0000000000

One might think that in a place so horrible, so dark and so easy to forget whether you're alive or dead, great thinkers could think about the dualities of existence and identity.

"Cock sucking girl looking motherfucker! I ever find that douche right hand jerking off, uncle fucking piece of shit I'll stick so many God damn matches up his ass he'll be shitting Forth o' July!" Harukai Saito was indeed one of those deep thinkers. The rest of his eloquent thoughts were muffled by the roll of bandage wraps he had in his mouth. Using both hands and with great difficulty, Harukai was wrapping around his torso and over his shoulders all the wounds he had received from his fight with Ban. _"Asshole…his strength kept disappearing then skyrocketing…"_

The sound of bandages being wrapped was the only sound accompanying Harukai's angry mumbling, until the sound of footsteps getting louder as they approached closer became apparent. With a stifling of breath, Harukai rushed himself to his feet; dropping the bandage wraps from his mouth in addition to his ripped up black and green hooded sweatshirt. In less the time it takes for a light bulb to die, Harukai extended four matches from his knuckles and between his thumb and pointer finger, lit them upon extending them the second time, then threw them at the approaching target.

The matches all landed right at the feet of the intended target illuminating him.

"You're lucky you're my friend, Kanryu. Else you'd be burning like a protesting Buddhist monk." Harukai said, sliding back down to the floor with a sadistic yet oddly friendly look on his face.

"That or you just have really shitty aim." Kanryu stated back in his standard monotone.

"So, what happened with you and that blond chick retriever?" the match stick user asked, wrapping his bandanna around his head.

"Turns out the rumors about him are true." Kanryu said, leaning but still standing next to the sitting Harukai.

"Get the fuck out…you mean he's 'Teiray'?" Harukai asked, his sarcasm made even more obvious by the twirling of his gloved finger in the air.

"No joke, I didn't think that much of him at first. But in terms of raw power, he's every bit the Lightning Emperor of Mugenjou's lower town." Harukai put his hooded shirt back on, and began placing bandages over the cuts and bruises on his face.

"So…he kicked your ass, right?" Harukai asked. Kanryus' fist twitched as well as one of hidden eyebrows beneath his gas mask.

"It was…more of a dra-"

_"Loser speak for ass kicked!" _Harukai said in a sing song tone, further irritating his friend. In the next instant, the foul mouthed match stick user was in a head lock by the living black hole. A very tight and quickly tightening headlock.

"Speaking of losses, what happened between you and the other retriever…my…dear…friend?" Kanryu asked, accentuating his last three words with some harsh arm, and in effect for Harukai throat, clenches.

"I…uh…ughh…I got him…uchhh, I finished him…burned his ass real good!" Harukai said between gasps for air, at this point he resembled a fish in the grip of an Osprey, right down to the darting eyes and face of differing shades of oxygen depravation.

"Oh really? Then where is his body Harukai? Could you kindly take me there?" Kanryu asked the same monotone this time with a trace of something close to brotherly.

"Uh…ok…I'll take you to see…just…**oh Kanryu come on!** Let me go…buddy…come on!" Harukai pleaded, his breathing reduced to the gasps of a baby fresh out of the womb. This went on for a few more moments until both of the guys simultaneously stopped.

Without a word, Kanryu let Harukai go who quickly regained his balance.

"My my, good to see you two boys are so up and full of pep after your pathetic showings today." The voice came, like bloody silk. Both the living void and the walking match stick looked in the same direction, both being drawn not by their eyes or ears, but rather by the icy pull and growing feeling of oblivion. "It's been a sin that we haven't talked in a while? Isn't it Kanryu-kun, and little Haru-chan?" Ms. Hai said, her ivory form slipping out of the darkness like a mistress proud of her conquest. Whether it was the walls of the Aku no Kami receding and protruding steadily like the beats of a heart or if it was merely her sheer presence that made the white she wore almost blend in with the black around her.

"Hai-san…why are you-"Kanryu just sort of trailed off, his curtness giving way to an occasional politeness if only because he didn't have a damn clue how to phrase his question.

"What he means is 'Why the hell are you away from your master?" Bitch?" Harukai said, his own personality adding a bit of class to the question. Ms. Hai laughed almost gently yet somehow managing to chill the room a few degrees, taking off her white hat and placing it within the folds of her coat. Her face now completely exposed, Kanryu and Harukai could now witness Ms. Hai's pale skin, made more so by coal black hair down to her mid-back, and her blood violet eyes matched by the bloody softness of her lips. Kanryu began to feel agitated, but unlike his partner he was able to contain it.

"What the **fuck** woman? We ask a simple damn question and all we get is you undressing? Leave it to the fucking she cows to screw every damn thing up!" Harukai yelled, throwing away any precaution of drawing wandering Formers to their location, but then again that never really mattered with this bunch anyway. Ms. Hai smiled again, the bloody intent flowing almost sensually from her face.

"I think you two are confused, about the roles around here."

"Roles?" Kanryu asked.

"Yes, you see this building is mine…the Formers a part of me and the blood that runs through these walls," Ms. Hai accentuated her point by making several syringes appear between her fingers and using them to stab a nearby wall making blood spray then trickle out. "Is mine." Harukai, visibly seething had matches slowly working their way out from between his fingers, but an outstretched hand from Kanryu stopped him.

"Who…what are you Ms. Hai and what role do we play in this little farce you call a haven for those not blessed by his love?" Kanryu yelled, breaking his monotone and even surprising Harukai. Ms. Hai began to approach slowly again, her eyes trained on both boys made men too soon in a building that could show only apathy, her lips parted letting out soft gentle breaths.

"I am as Kuroudo Akabane is..." Harukai drew out his matches.

"Kusano, as terrified and vengeful as he is could lead no one but himself to the gates of whatever end that silly book can give him." Kanryu drew his knives from his gauntlets.

"And as adorable as you two are, you are merely passersby within the great legacy flowing all around you." Harukai dug his foot in front of him, bringing up some stone and whatever blood had trickled near him.

"What right do you…do you have…to talk to us like some fucking dogs you found and picked up out of some pile of shit you menstruating child of all things vile and whorish!" Harukai yelled, his own aura flaring enough to raise the temperature of the room. "We're not your mother fucking tools!" before lunging at the smiling Ms. Hai, Harukai was held back by a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it Kanryu? I'm not gonna stand here and let that lazy know it all skank talk like she-"Kanryu cut him off.

"We'll do it together." He said, his monotone back, but bringing a smirk from Harukai all the same.

"It's just like I said, I have always found you two so cute." Ms. Hai said, her smile becoming even more serene.

0000000000

Whether now charred ash far and beyond anything recognizable due to Coal or being eaten away by acid and repeated beatings courtesy of Himiko, the Formers were being cut down by the handful every minute. The Formers or rather what was left of them would still come after the pair even if all that was left of them was a head or half a torso. Made even more nightmarish was what the Formers would do to each other to "re-arm" themselves.

Everything from ripping out eyes to replace missing ones, or tearing off the arms of a dying comrade to use as a bludgeon, nothing though came close to the sheer viciousness displayed as when one Former ripped out the stomach of another to use as "ammunition" for its' vomit based acid throwing maneuver. It was all Himiko could do to keep her lunch down and eyes open during the fight, but her professional streak would allow nothing less. Coal on the other hand seemed to be handling this fight just as coolly as his one with Akabane, perhaps even more so considering he was now missing a good deal of his right arm.

When the fight had reached a break, Himiko took a few ticks of a second to take out a fresh bottle of acid scent and some flame scent just in case. For Coal, there was no break as he kept charging into the battle like some murder machine programmed to perfection and performing beyond its' own creators bastard capabilities.

_"Man, he doesn't stop, isn't that wound Jackal gave him slowing him down at all? Or…"_ Himiko thought while throwing herself back into the fight. _"Is it just adding fuel to his resolve?"_ Though both were concentrating on their respective opponents, Himiko could have sworn, even if it was only in momentary passes, that something was flashing in Coals eyes. It definitely wasn't humanity or pity for his opponents but rather flashes of reminiscence, of what he once was or what he once may have been. To Coal, it all centered, as most things of significance do, on a woman.

0000000000

The orange glow behind the dancing fool was hell, if hell was a factory churning out fire and steam. Hangman was dancing, or what best could be described as a dance with a scythe across his shoulders and his arms looped around it.

Akabane watched this spectacle with equal parts disgust and contempt, watching someone degrade themselves so readily was not fine viewing in his opinion. Despite all this he could not for the life of him turn away, the slit in his hat was now occupied completely by the dancing specter with the orange hue behind him, illuminating his every shuffle and move, giving a jagged shadow of a dancing strung up scarecrow. Then came the voice, a ragged and grating sound accompanied by a gigantic tongue, but the lyrics could be understood and their resonance felt.

_"In search of new lands, I build a new house,"_ the flames seemed to dance with the singer, the gears somehow loud and then silenced with every other word, creating an atmosphere not fit for the planet.

_"I thatch the house with reed stalks... gathered neatly in bundles,"_ Akabane tried to block it out, but something was being prodded in his thoughts. His minds eye was being forced open and flooded, by a light casting a dark compensating shadow.

_"I thatch the house with reed stalks, gathered neatly in bundles," _the memories came and all emotions associated with them, and some that weren't. Hangman was the conductor playing the ebb and flow of power and memory between himself, Akabane and that damned building, that factory hell all at once.

_"At the stone wall, let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred black kites." _The song went kept going on, Akabane was wondering where he had heard it. He had to have heard it somewhere before, how else could it have such an effect on him? How could Hangman know it, he who had not left this place for so long? Did Hangman even know what it was he was singing?

_"At the stone wall, let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred black kites."_ Akabane then drew a scalpel; he looked in its reflection and saw Doctor Jackal back in this place he had been so willing to run to before, soon so willing to forget.

_"Let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred black kites." _Hangman would have his turn, by force if necessary. The light that had danced off Jackal's scalpel played with the end of his scythe as well casting flickers and flashes off the walls and liquid covered floors, if that liquid was water or blood or neither, neither seemed to mind either way.

_"The eighth month is fast approaching, and yet I have nothing to wear," _the noose around Hangman's neck began to dance too, swinging back and forth casting its own shadow, making its own impression on Hangman's.

_"I want to dress gaily, so brother, will you lend me just one sleeve?" _Lowering his scalpel Akabane was privy to the façade of his own black suit, marred as it was but still whole. Shifting his gaze, the former Judas looked at Hangman who seemed unbothered by his own tattered clothes.

"_I wish to dress my children and loved ones... in the one kimono that I own," _More memories came and the groan of some Formers in the distance could be heard. These were quickly muted by some circumstance or another; the Formers were either prevented from interfering in the song or just did not want to participate.

_"As for me, I will wear vines... that I plucked deep in the mountains," _the fires behind Hangman, spurred on by the turning and grinding of the gears went unnoticed by the singer, in fact the fire seemed to almost whimper at him, as if he was bellowing some kind of soft roar.

"_The light of the full moon shines down, illuminating the world with its divine light," _ it wasn't light that came down from the blackness where the Hangman had been lowered, rather the light had come from the stairs they were at the top of, and the light was almost an after thought.

_"When my lover sneaks in to visit me, I wish that the clouds would hide that light just a little." _Up and down, the song had been building and breaking towards something. Then Akabane saw something, a book on a desk next to an open window, its pages being gently and carelessly nudged by the breeze, turning and turning, the words made of no consequence by those who would decree so.

Then, scalpel and scythe were drawn.

To Be Continued

Authors Notes: Well then, took a while didn't it? Heh, it's been pretty busy on my end, family crap, school crap, mental crap, crap of Biblical proportions. Anyway rather than bore you I'll get to the reviews (about time!) Oh before I forget, that song at the end was Obokuri-Eemui ("Obtain Bearing") by Ikue Asazaki, fans of Samurai Champloo should recognize this song. I heard it in its entirety a few months ago and after reading the lyrics knew I had to put it in my story, hope you enjoyed!

Ivory Nightshade: Hey, you changed your name didn't you? Very nice, anyway thank you kindly for your review and your understanding regarding this poor writers limitations! Hope you liked this chapter.

Atropos Knife: Once again you risk giving me a fat head my friend. Oh and yeah I realize Coal being dragged along is a bit of a liability, but Himiko is a bit of a softie and Akabane is professional enough to multi task I say. I hope you like Hangman, in this chapter and in the ensuing ones, rest assured his past is screwy even by the already mangled standards I have. Also, about your Venus De Milo query, oddly enough I reached it after I had written that part of the story (these long chapters take a while!) but I figured ol' Kanryu was different enough especially how his origins tie into Harukais' and…whoops slipped. And what was that about some Phantom jerk? I have no idea who you are possibly referring to. Funny thing you should compare Corsair to Fudo, I was on a bit of a Fudo kick after seeing his and Bans fight in the I.L. arc, through in a few DG elements and voila, mad priest…speaking of which you ever notice Fudo had a bunch of crosses himself? Ah well, college is killing me thus disproving your survival these…damn English, my first and only language and still it torments me. I hope you enjoyed this installment and thank you for reviewing "Over Drinks", that was definitely an experimental writing on my part and you gave me a boost when I needed it. I hope this chapter was good in your book and warrants your always welcome review.

Alicorna: Thank you for your reviews, everyone makes my feel like a real writer rather than…whatever the alternative is. For the Maguruma thing, all I can say is I'm going with what I have access too which is mainly the English translated manga and anime. And as for your pimping your stuff, I'll give it a look as soon as the bullets of college and work their way out of my system…kidding, I'll try to look when I can. For all my grammar and spelling mistakes, I'll try to correct and change things as they come up but I am just one guy and getting a beta is a little stretch for time right now, maybe for the next chapter…when and if that comes up! But if you want the job you can have it. Ban flooring the car…I dunno I figured anime and manga are the lands of exaggeration and it seemed to me Himiko has a keen ear for picking up Bans insults anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to your feedback.

Mayumi-san: Believe me if anyone can sympathize with lack of time it is me, so no worries there. I am glad you like the story so far and hope you continue to, it is what I am trying (futilely) to do; any and all criticism you have is needed and appreciated. And when are you going to update "Gemstone Waltz"? I am dying to know what happens next (hopefully not literally).

Melodie: Thank you for reviewing "Over Drinks", any review makes my day, more if it's positive, hope you read this considering I have yet to use the reply function on reviews. I'll get to it soon, hopefully!

kAZuKo54: Hey, thanks for the feedback and the glowing review, it helps this thing passing for a writer you see before you. I have seen your story and will get to it as soon as possible.

Mz-Kitty-Kat: Thank you for reading my story and thank you for liking it more than I thought anyone would.

Well, that be that folks. I am exhausted and need my requisite thirty minutes of sleep before school. So, after so long a hiatus, I'll see you all when I see you in another near half year.


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